Olympic Figure Skater Performs to Cantina Song From ‘Star Wars’

Inspiration for a figure skating performance can come from a variety of places, with many different athletes paying their respects to the Star Wars saga by incorporating iconic music into their routines. During a medley of many musical cues from Star Wars, Chinese figure skater Jin Boyang caught the internet’s attention when we heard the iconic “Cantina Band” song from the original film.

The performance wowed the judges enough to earn him the top spot at the time, despite Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu immediately pushing Boyang into second place.

Making matters even more interesting is that this was the second time the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games has featured John Williams’ memorable music. Not only that, but the previous appearance of the Star Wars score also came from athletes representing China.

During their free skating competition, athletes Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang performed to “Duel of the Fates” from The Phantom Menace and “Luke and Leia” from the original trilogy. Similarly, Boyang’s medley featured music spanning the original trilogy.

While Star Wars is clearly a hit amongst athletes in China, the same can’t be said for the country as a whole, with The Last Jedi earning disappointing numbers in its release.

The Force Awakens opened to more than $50 million in 2015, while Rogue One opened to $30 million. Not only did The Last Jedi fail to come close to The Force Awakens‘ performance in China, it fell short of Rogue One, only taking in $28 million.

Chen Tao, who runs a Chinese Star Wars fan forum, cites that, given its lack of exposure with audiences in the country, the discovery that The Last Jedi was the eighth film in the series makes it feel impossible to catch up on the entire saga, dismaying the casual fan from seeing the latest installment.

The original series of films didn’t make their way to China until the ’90s and never really gained much steam with audiences. Rogue One, however, managed to thrive due to its specific narrative.

“For a lot of fans, the story of Rogue One made us think of our own country’s revolutionary history,” Tao pointed out. “A lot of characters in it were just like the Communist Party members who sacrificed themselves for the revolution.”

Stay tuned to the Olympics on NBC in hopes of hearing “Jedi Rocks” from the Max Rebo Band.

[H/T Twitter, anneymarie]