May 4 is “Star Wars Day,” but BetMassachusetts.com decided to take a break from covering Massachusetts sportsbooks to look at the state’s favorite movies in the “Star Wars” franchise.
At No. 1 is the second film that was released but the fifth in the nonet: “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.” The 1980 sequel to the original sci-fi smash, “Empire,” directed by Irvin Kershner, is considered by many to be the best installment of the nine. In this film, the Empire has beaten down the rebels, and for the first time we meet Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch), Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) and, of, course, Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) who teaches Luke to be a Jedi. Luke (Mark Hamill), Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) return.
In second place is the 1977 movie that changed the face of science fiction and special effects, “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope,” originally and affectionately known simply as “Star Wars.” Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2 and the Stormtroopers all became known the world over from this groundbreaking, Death Star-destroying classic, written and directed by George Lucas.
In third is the direct prequel to “A New Hope,” 2005’s “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.” This is the third film in the second produced trilogy, that’s set before the earlier made trilogy. George Lucas was back directing and we’re three years into the Clone Wars. Hayden Christensen is Anakin Skywalker, Luke and Leia’s daddy (and more), and Natalie Portman is Padmé, their mother. Ewan McGregor is a young Obi-Wan. Samuel L. Jackson is Mace Windu and Ian McDiarmid plays evil Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.
“Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” from 2015, is in fourth place. This is the first film in the third trilogy, and was directed by J.J. Abrams. The stories here start to move away from Luke, Leia, and Solo (who all appear) to a new, younger cast of stars – Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron. A new bad guy with the Force is Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver.
Rounding out our top five is 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which is a “Star Wars” offshoot and not one of the nine films in the series. The story here is, shall we say, Death Star adjacent, and stars Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, Alan Tudyk as K-2SO, and Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, who would return in the 2022 Disney+ series “Andor,” which is actually set before “Rogue One.”
May the 4th be with you! Utilizing Google Trends, BetMassachusetts.com analyzed the most popular Star Wars movies of state residents by looking at the search results of each movie over the past year (April 24, 2022-April 24, 2023). The movies include all movies in each of the 3 trilogies, as well as "Solo" and "Rogue One."
While we'll have plenty more fun research items like this in the months to come, stay close to this site for everything related to Massachusetts sports betting apps.
Author
Howard Gensler is a veteran journalist covering the Massachusetts sports betting market for BetMassachusetts.com. Before his focus on U.S. sports betting, Howard worked at the Philadelphia Daily News, TV Guide and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Howard is also a founding editor of bettorsinsider.com.
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