‘Star Wars’ fans, these are the stamps you’ve been looking for
Beloved “Star Wars” characters R2-D2, C-3PO and BB-8, along with seven other droids from the galaxy created by Modesto son George Lucas, will be riding in mail trucks rather than spacecraft this year. They’re also sure to find themselves on the walls and in the collection books of fans and philatelists.
The U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday announced that the collection of 10 postage stamps will be released this spring, though no specific issue date was given. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm.
The stamps will come in a sheet of 20. Besides the trio that are practically household names (Artoo and Threepio have been around since the saga’s start, 1977’s “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” and BB-8 was introduced in 2015’s “Episode VII — The Force Awakens”), the other droids pictured are IG-11, K-2SO, D-O, L3-37, a GNK (or Gonk) power droid, the 2-1B surgical droid and C1-10P, commonly known as “Chopper.”
The characters are shown against backgrounds representing settings of memorable adventures, says a news release from the Postal Service. The selvage surrounding the stamps features a passageway from the floating Cloud City above the planet Bespin, introduced in “Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back.”
The news release says the droids stamps are a nod to the commitment of Lucasfilm and Disney to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and the continued collaboration between “Star Wars: Force for Change” and the global pre-K-12 nonprofit organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
“Star Wars: Force for Change” and FIRST have joined forces to expand access to STEM learning to more young people around the world and to help them envision a brighter, more inclusive future, the release says.
For a closer look at the droid stamps, go to www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-droid-stamps.
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 1:28 PM.
