‘Star Wars’ Characters Grace British Stamps
Soon be able to send Yoda with their letters, Great Britain will, because Star Wars stamps fly in on October 20.
In celebration of the newest Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Royal Mail, the United Kingdom’s national mail service, has started pre-orders for next month’s release date. The 12 different stamps feature characters throughout the Star Wars timeline, from the original trilogy to the newest installment, which will be released in the U.K. on December 17, and the U.S. on December 18. Among the 9 characters included from the original films are Darth Vader, Yoda, and Han Solo; and three new characters from Star Wars:The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren, Rey, and Finn, round out the lineup. Each character stamp also includes a featured secondary Star Wars character or scene; for example, the Han Solo stamp shows Chewbacca in the lower righthand corner. There is also a mini sheet available that includes spacecraft and vehicles from the series, such as TIE fighters and the Millennium Falcon.
The artist behind the Star Wars character portraits is Malcolm Tween, who has touted many of the images on his Twitter feed.
Been awesome to work on this amazing project http://t.co/UhyB6jgcYP @HamillHimself Mail the force be with you… pic.twitter.com/Ds851GIJvs
— Malcolm Tween (@MalcolmTween) September 12, 2015
Royal Mail has many different options for Star Wars fans to choose from, ranging in price from £3.78 (around $6) to £99 (around $150). There are single stamp sheets, framed sheets, and a few different first day covers, depending on whether you would rather display the stamps or use them. Royal Mail also offers Star Wars fans who aren’t in the UK different options so that they, too, can get their hands on the memorabilia as well. In the UK, these stamps will also be available at 8,000 post offices.
Since each episode was made with a largely British cast and crew, Royal Mail has their own reason for celebrating the newest Star Wars film.
“We are proud to announce a special issue that celebrates both the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the role that Britain’s worldleading film industry has played in its success.”
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the 7th episode in the Star Wars series. The film is set approximately thirty years after the events of Return of the Jedi, and is the first in a planned third Star Wars trilogy announced after Disney purchased Lucasfilm.
[Photos by Royal Mail]