Orinda, California — The Force is returning to one of the East Bay’s most beautiful old movie palaces.
The Orinda Theatre is celebrating Star Wars Day weekend with a full original-trilogy marathon, giving local fans a chance to see Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi on the big screen over two days: Sunday, May 3 and Monday, May 4, 2026.
The theater’s event listing describes it simply and wonderfully: “Come see the Star Wars Trilogy – Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi on May 3rd and 4th!” (Orinda Theater)
According to the theater’s event promotion, the lineup is set for 1 p.m. for A New Hope, 4 p.m. for The Empire Strikes Back, and 7 p.m. for Return of the Jedi. The screenings are being promoted as a two-day-only Star Wars marathon.
A Perfect May the Fourth Event in Orinda
May 4 has become the unofficial international holiday for Star Wars fans because of the now-famous pun: “May the Fourth be with you.” StarWars.com describes Star Wars Day as a fan holiday that grew from grassroots celebration into a worldwide annual tradition. (StarWars.com)
The theater’s own event calendar lists the trilogy under its film events and Disney events pages, with the title “May the 4th Be with You – Star Wars Trilogy.” (Orinda Theater)
The Trilogy That Still Brings People Out
The marathon also builds on the Orinda Theatre’s earlier A New Hope screening in February, which drew a large crowd of fans, including plenty of lightsabers and costumed characters outside the theater. Bay Area Telegraph attended that screening, and the turnout made one thing pretty clear: Star Wars still has a special ability to get people out of the house and into a real movie theater.
That February screening also came with a bit of a teaser. At the time, the theater hinted that a bigger original-trilogy event could be coming for May 4. Now, that teased event appears to be real.
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The Orinda Theatre opened in 1941, and its original auditorium remains one of the region’s great old cinema spaces.
Whether you are a lifelong fan, a parent trying to introduce your kids to the original trilogy, or just someone who likes seeing beloved movies with a big crowd, this is probably one of the more fun ways to spend Star Wars Day in the East Bay.
And yes — lightsabers seem very much in the spirit of the thing.
