Credit: LucasfilmNext year marks the 50th anniversary of Star Wars.
Before becoming the massive global multimedia franchise it is today—films, television, animation, comics, video games, merchandise, and theme parks—the galaxy far, far away began with George Lucas’ original 1977 film, Star Wars, which was later given the subtitle A New Hope.
Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (1977) follows young farmhand Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who discovers his destiny as a Jedi when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness).
Together, they join forces with smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford), his trusted co-pilot Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), droid duo C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), as they come face to face with the evil Galactic Empire and the Sith Lord known as Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), who will stop at nothing to rule over the galaxy.
The film became known for many things: its characters, lightsabers, planets, space battles, the opening text crawl, John Williams’ iconic score, and memorable phrases such as “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” and “May the Force be with you.”
A New Hope Is Getting a New Name
Now, it has been confirmed that A New Hope is being redubbed in Welsh, as Disney, Lucasfilm, Welsh broadcaster S4C, and Creative Wales have announced the first-ever Welsh-language version of the original 1977 film, which is officially titled Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd in Welsh.
The redubbing comes as both a celebration of Welsh culture—which, as Pembrokeshire-born Lucasfilm Co-President Lynwen Brennan puts it, “has such a rich history of storytelling and a beautiful lyrical language”—and as part of the film’s 50th anniversary in 2027.
“May the Force be with you” translates into “Bydded y Grym Gyda Chi” and “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” becomes “Amser maith yn ôl, mewn galaeth bell, bell i ffwrdd.”
You can watch the entire opening text crawl in Welsh in the official teaser shared by S4C:
Related: Disney Unveils New Luke, Leia, and Han Actors for ‘Star Wars’ Movie
Star Wars (1977) Is Getting a New Cast
Of course, the Welsh redub also means that the film is getting a new voice cast with Welsh actors: 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, and Llŷr Ifans as C-3PO.
Other roles include Nia Roberts as Aunt Beru, Richard Harrington as Grand Moff Tarkin, Owain Arthur as Red Leader, and Rhodri Meilir as Gold Leader.
“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 Lucasfilm Co-President Lynwen Brennan. She adds: “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.”
This is refreshing news for Welsh fans of the franchise.
Wales, along with its ancient and rich language, has virtually no representation in mainstream media. The language itself has faced centuries of decline, and if not for the efforts of Welsh speakers and language preservationists, would have by now become as forgotten as the Force itself is before Luke Skywalker discovers it in A New Hope. Now, one of the most iconic films of all time will introduce this minority language to a whole new generation of Star Wars fans.
The dubbed version of A New Hope will premiere on S4C and its streaming platforms on Christmas Day.
What do you think of Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars announcement? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
