Apple Releases May the 4th ‘Star Wars’ Ad Starring 172 Real-Life Fans

Apple and Disney have joined forces, so to speak, for a Star Wars-themed ad.

The clever commercial (below) is timed for “Star Wars Day,” May the 4th, and touts iPhone 15’s “Precision Finding for Find My Friends” feature.

The setup: A Star Wars fan cosplaying as a Mandalorian (played by real-life fan Owen Jardiniano) journeys to meet up with friends at a convention and uses his phone’s feature to find the rest of his Mando clan amid a space stuffed with fellow costumed fans.

The three-minute ad, directed by Kim Gehrig, is filled with Star Wars Easter Eggs.

Lucasfilm said they received more than 300 submissions for the spot, with a total of 172 fans becoming involved with the production. Lucasfilm said it’s the largest number of fans they’ve ever had in a project sanctioned by the company.

May the 4th is a pun derived from the Star War quote “May the Force be with you.” According to USA Today, the earliest use of the pun goes all the way back to 1978, one year after the release of A New Hope. The unofficial holiday didn’t really take off, however, until it started flourishing in social media hashtags.

Disney is re-releasing all nine Skywalker Saga films in select theaters this weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace. Also, the animated series Tales of the Empire is being released on Disney+ on Saturday.

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