You’ve most likely seen the original trilogy, and depending on your age suffered through or enjoyed movies I, II, and III. Star Wars is so much deeper than that, it really has become its own culture, and for some a religion. The amount of stories, characters, and lore surrounding the Star Wars universe could completely rule a person’s life. For many, it does.

Which is why May 4th has been turned into Maythe4thBeWithYou, a day celebrating the greatness of Star Wars.

As a random bit of knowledge to solidify this greatness; did you know that Darth Maul, the silent sith warrior in Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace didn’t die at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi? In fact, he enjoyed most of his life as a weird spider cyborg creature. And why? Because Star Wars is great, that’s why. This is what Darth Maul eventually turned into…

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Because the Star Wars universe is so expansive, a character who was once a nearly silent bad ass villain in a single movie has a complete history. If you’re curious, you can read his entire wiki. Also, just so you know, Boba Fett didn’t die when he fell into the Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi.

While everyone attributes Star Wars to the movies, they aren’t even close to what I first think of when talking about the universe. Which is why I want to take this time to share with you the great aspects of Star Wars you’ve most likely missed in your lifetime. It’s ok, not everyone can be as cool as me to have ascertained this cornucopia of knowledge throughout the years.

HK-47 (Assassination Droid from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic — or — meatbag hater)

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For anyone who’s played through the BioWare developed classic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, will tell you that the cast of characters in the game are some of the most memorable in the expanded universe. The game takes place thousands of years before the movies, which allowed BioWare to really flex their creative muscle. And on that muscle, the bulgiest vein to appear was HK-47, the assassination droid.

HK-47’s whole bag is that he really hates humans and it’s his prime directive to kill as many of the surly meatbags as possible. You built him though, so he follows you around killing as many meatbags as your group can get a hold of. He became a fan favorite due to the wonderfully hilarious one liners, which you can enjoy below.

X-Wing, Tie-Fighter, and X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, AND X-Wing Alliance

During the 90’s LucasArts took the Star Wars universe and helped to publish some of the greatest video games of the decade, solidifying the expanded universe beyond what was seen in the movies. For proof, a person doesn’t need to look any farther than the space-sim series that started with X-Wing. If you ever wanted to pilot the X-Wings seen in the original trilogy, this game gave you the chance.

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The game was so well received it lead to an entire series of games, with a majority of fans believing Tie Fighter to be cream of the crop. It took the combat that was in X-Wing and expanded on it even farther, providing a unique story that let you fight directly for the emperor and provided a feeling of subterfuge. Something you hadn’t seen in flight-sims before it.

I have fond/hair pulling memories of trying to get these games to work on my family’s old DOS powered PC in the mid-90’s. It was plagued with bugs that kept you from being able to boot it up, but once you did, there was no looking back.

Grand Admiral Thrawn – The ‘Batman’ of the Empire

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He doesn’t have force powers, and he has no brute strength to speak of, but that didn’t keep Thrawn from becoming one of the biggest powers in the Empire. This guy was right alongside Darth Vader and the Emperor, but wasn’t featured until the expanded universe started to grow.

Without any powers, Thrawn relied on his intelligence, cunning, and military tactics to forge his legacy. If you talk with hardcore fans about who the smartest character in the universe is, most will instantly mention Thrawn. The chiss (his race) admiral has done it all: quashed rebellions, exposed and defeated traitors, went against the Emperor’s commands and lived, while also being allowed to keep his status.

All because Thrawn would out-think, out-class, and out-wit his opposition. He also had a taste for art, and believed studying a culture’s art was an avenue to thinking as they do and in turn beating them. Cool as a cucumber.

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Twitter has been blowing up with Star Wars related tweets today, with #StarWarsDay and May the Fourth dominating the trends. Here’s what people are saying…

I hope everyone has a great May the 4th, and goes out to enjoy everything they love about Star Wars. And for those who include the Star Wars Holiday Special…here’s the first part.