Candace Payne, a hardcore “Star Wars” fan from Texas, decided to treat herself to a little “birthday joy” with a new toy and show it off with a stream on Facebook Live. The resulting video is proof that “Star Wars” can make giddy kids out of pretty much anyone.
“I’d like to say I bought this for my son,” she said while wearing a Death Star shirt. “But at the end of the day, it’s mine and I’m gonna keep it for my own.”
After a few agonizing moments of fumbling and unboxing, she unveils her new treasure: an electronic Chewbacca mask. She slides it on and opens her mouth, causing the mask to let out an electronic Wookiee cry. Cue the most hysterical laugh you’ll hear all week.
The video is now the most watched post on Facebook Live with over 40 million views. Don’t worry about Payne’s kids, though. She promises she will let them play with the mask and partake in the ceaseless joys of movie tie-in merchandise.
“I’m not a bad mom, I’m not a jerk, but at the end of the day it doesn’t go in their toy box, it goes in my room.”
It’s fitting that a Chewbacca vid went viral on May 19. That’s also the birthday of Peter Mayhew, who has played Chewbacca in five “Star Wars” films over the past four decades.
11 of the Best 'Star Wars' Fan Films Ever Made (Videos)
"Star Wars" is a series that has captured the imagination of the entire world and inspired filmmakers to pick up a camera and put their own spin on George Lucas' universe (Hi, Mr. Abrams). In honor of its legacy, here are some of the best "Star Wars" fan films you can catch on YouTube.
Premiering at the 1997 San Diego ComicCon, "TROOPS" was one of the first major "Star Wars" fan films made. The film parodies the TV series "COPS" as a team of Stormtroopers patrols Tatooine and encounters two people very close to Luke Skywalker.
Darth Maul was one of the best ideas the prequels had, and German director Shawn Bu wanted to do him justice. This short film shows Darth Maul's final test as a Sith Apprentice and features the best lightsaber fight you'll see in any fan film.
Back in 2013, Russian animation studio 1A4 found a way to boil down the entire plot of "A New Hope" into a 60-second short as part of their "Movie Speedrun" series
Three years later, 1A4 resurrected "Movie Speedruns" for a new series, starting with a 60-second run through "The Force Awakens."
Directors Sy Cody White and Andrew Kim were picked by Kathleen Kennedy for top honors at last year's Star Wars Fan Film Awards for "Lesser Evil," which shows two Jedi making an uneasy truce with a bounty hunter to take down a Sith Lord.
Animator Jared Hundley also won a Fan Film Award for his take on what newly recruited Stormtroopers might have had to go through when arriving on the Death Star. If Kylo Ren was anything like this, it's little wonder that Finn ditched this job.
Made way back in 1999, "George Lucas In Love" remains one of the best Star Wars fan films ever. Inspired by "Shakespeare in Love," the film shows the Great Beard taking a cosmic romantic journey filled with the characters he would create as he writes his final script for his USC writing class.
YouTube comedian JonTron created "StarCade," a nine-episode series exploring the detritus of tie-in video games "Star Wars" has left behind over the years. Some are good, others are bad; but as JonTron discovers, they are almost all unbelievably silly.
In what is hopefully the first of many episodes to come, Noel Braham's "Exile" shows a Jedi and Padawan on the run as Darth Vader moves to purge the Jedi from the galaxy.
Filmed in the Canadian Rockies and with minimal CGI, The Blood Brothers' "Rebel Scum" shows an encounter between a Stormtrooper and a Rebel Snowspeeder after the Battle of Hoth from "Empire Strikes Back."
"The Unconscious Sith" shows a little boy's dreams of entering his "Star Wars" comics as a Sith lord. Made by father-son team Adam and Christian White, the film received a Fan Film award from George Lucas himself.
1 of 12
Celebrate May the 4th and the legacy of “Star Wars” with some of the best fan films inspired by the series
"Star Wars" is a series that has captured the imagination of the entire world and inspired filmmakers to pick up a camera and put their own spin on George Lucas' universe (Hi, Mr. Abrams). In honor of its legacy, here are some of the best "Star Wars" fan films you can catch on YouTube.
