Credit: LucasfilmThe original Star Wars actors have long been synonymous with the characters they brought to life in George Lucas’ saga.
Mark Hamill remains inseparable from the role of Luke Skywalker. Harrison Ford is just as permanently linked to Han Solo as he is to Indiana Jones. And the late Carrie Fisher will always be remembered as Princess Leia Organa. Alec Guinness might have been succeeded by Ewan McGregor in the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi, but to fans, he will always be the first. And James Earl Jones will forever be known as the voice of Darth Vader (and Mufasa from 1994’s The Lion King).
Over the past 49 years, these characters have all been reimagined or recast in some capacity, whether through prequels, animation, games, or audiobooks. But when you go back and watch those original films, you expect to see the likes of Hamill and Fisher — and also hear them.
That’s about to change, as A New Hope, the first Star Wars film, is being redubbed entirely in Welsh, as Disney, Lucasfilm, Welsh broadcaster S4C, and Creative Wales have announced the first-ever Welsh-language version of the 1977 film.
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A New Hope Gets a New Cast
For many Star Wars fans, phrases such as “Bydded y Grym Gyda Chi” and “Amser maith yn ôl, mewn galaeth bell, bell i ffwrdd” will be very unfamiliar. But for Welsh fans of the franchise, they mean “May the Force be with you” and “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.”
The film itself is officially titled Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd in Welsh.
Of course, this redub also means a full recasting, with Welsh actors lending their vocal talents, some of whom will be very familiar: Osian Morgan as Luke Skywalker, Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Princess Leia, Matthew Rhys as Han Solo, Rhys Ifans as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mark Lewis Jones as Darth Vader, Llŷr Ifans as C-3PO, Nia Roberts as Aunt Beru, Richard Harrington as Grand Moff Tarkin, Owain Arthur as Red Leader, and Rhodri Meilir as Gold Leader.
It will be interesting to find out who has the fun task of voicing Chewbacca…
You can watch the entire opening text crawl in Welsh in the official teaser shared by S4C:
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Star Wars Turns 50 Next Year
The redubbing comes as both a celebration of Welsh culture—which, as Pembrokeshire-born Lucasfilm Co-President Lynwen Brennan puts it in a statement, “has such a rich history of storytelling and a beautiful lyrical language”—and as part of the film’s 50th anniversary in 2027.
“We have never before had a translation of Star Wars into Welsh and I am so thankful that in celebration of our 50th anniversary, we have been able to work with some incredible Welsh talent to make that a reality,” says Brennan. She continues: “Welsh speakers will finally be able to enjoy the film in our native language and my hope is that it will have the same emotional impact as if you were watching the film again for the first time.”
The dubbed version of A New Hope will premiere on S4C and its streaming platforms on Christmas Day.
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