Have you ever pondered what the Welsh word is for “Death Star” or “Lightsaber”? Well, soon the world will definitively know, as a Star Wars film is being dubbed into the Welsh language for the very first time.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, which was the first Star Wars film to hit cinemas way back in 1977, is set to be dubbed into Welsh as part of an initiative to celebrate the film’s 50th anniversary.
The new Welsh version, titled Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd, will be shown on Welsh-language television channel S4C on Christmas Day, and will be available to stream via the channel’s on demand service from that date onwards.
A host of famous Welsh faces are set to lend their voices to the new production, including Rhys Ifans, star of films like Notting Hill and the TV show House of the Dragon, and Aimee-Ffion Edwards, known for her work in Peaky Blinders and Slow Horses.
Also featured among the cast is Welsh actor Mark Lewis Jones, who portrayed Captain Moden Canady in Episode VIII of the Star Wars saga, The Last Jedi.
The project to dub Star Wars into Welsh for the first time was undertaken as a collaboration between S4C, Lucasfilm and Disney, as well as Creative Wales, the cultural development arm of the Welsh Government.
Speaking about the upcoming Welsh version of the film, Lucasfilm co-president Lynwen Brennan, who was born and raised in Wales, told the BBC, ‘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.’
‘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,’ she added.
The upcoming dub of A New Hope into Welsh does not, however, serve as Wales’ only tie to the fabled film franchise. Richard Marquand, the director of the series’ third instalment, Return of the Jedi, was born in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, while Star Wars TV series The Acolyte, has recently joined the long list of movies and TV shows to be filmed in Wales, with scenes for the series shot in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park.
Then of course, there’s the slightly surreal story of The Millennium Falcon, the iconic starship piloted by Han Solo, being built in a dockyard in Pembrokeshire in West Wales.
The new Welsh version of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope will be shown on S4C on Christmas Day, after which it will be available to view via the channel’s on demand service, accessible to everyone in the UK. Until then, a boed i'r Grym fod gyda chi – may the Force be with you!
Learn more about the history of the Welsh language and its importance to Wales.