31 Movies of May, Day 4: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

May 4th viewing: Star Wars, selected by the Force

Year of Release: 1977

Directed by: George Lucas

Written by: George Lucas

Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voice)

Accompanying Beverage of Choice: Daisycutter (Pale ale, 5.2% ABV) - Half Acre Beer Company, Chicago, Illinois
(Support Independent Breweries - buy local when getting buzzed during quarantine)

There’s nothing I can write about Star Wars that hasn’t already been written. The Internet has covered every possible topic, each individual line. There is a podcast that has dedicated a separate episode to each individual minute of each movie.

All that I can possibly write is this Star Wars day isn’t so much of an essay, but mostly a plea: I want someone to explain Blue Milk to me.

Of all the Star Wars movies, I’ve actually probably seen A New Hope the fewest times, and I don’t think it was even the first Star Wars movie I saw. I’m pretty sure I had already seen Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace before I got around to seeing the original article, so while I love “Star Wars” as a series/world/concept, the actual movie that kicked things off isn’t really a foundational text for me. I don’t have all the small details memorized.

But for people who do, Blue Milk is something of a thing. Or at least Disney is convinced it is. When Disneyland opened its Star Wars-themed Galaxy’s Edge park last year, Blue Milk was one of the most high profile concessions available. This year for “May the Fourth” Star Wars Day, Disney released recipes for Blue Milk for people to make at home. Sadly, Disney has yet to release a recipe for that fresh-from-the-udder milk Luke drinks in The Last Jedi.

Where I run into the issue is that Blue Milk just seems to be such an inconsequential detail that I just ask, why? When I watched the movie yesterday, I specifically made a point to look out for the Blue Milk and… I missed it. Supposedly Luke pours some when at the table with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, and I saw him pour… something, but on my TV screen, it just looked like slightly frothy regular milk? Do I need a new TV? Does Disney+ do a terrible job with color? Or have I been misled?

I kept my eyes peeled to see if the Blue Milk showed up at the Mos Eisley Cantina, but I saw no sign. I did see many other weird galactic cocktails in the background, though, all of which would seem to be more interesting beverages to serve as The Star Wars Drink than what appears to me to just be regular milk.

I assume that Blue Milk actually does exist. It would be ridiculous for the entire Internet to have lied to me over all these years, something that the Internet would certainly never do. But I’m starting to lose my faith. My faith in the Blue Milk is weak.