For the first time, Star Wars (1977) has been dubbed into Welsh. Lucasfilm and Disney worked with S4C — Wales's Welsh-language TV channel — and Creative Wales, a Welsh government agency, to create it. The news was announced on 4 August 2026 at the National Eisteddfod, a major Welsh-language festival, held near Cardigan in North Pembrokeshire. The Welsh version is called Star Wars: Gobaeth Newydd (which means "New Hope"). It will air on S4C and its streaming platforms starting Christmas Day. The project also ties into the film's 50th anniversary in 2027.

The voice cast includes several well-known Welsh actors. Rhys Ifans voices Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his brother Llŷr Ifans voices C-3PO. Matthew Rhys plays Han Solo, Aimee-Ffion Edwards voices Princess Leia, Mark Lewis Jones voices Darth Vader, and Osian Morgan voices Luke Skywalker. The Guardian

Lucasfilm co-president Lynwen Brennan, who was born in Pembrokeshire, confirmed that the company had never before made a Welsh translation of Star Wars. Michael Kohn, a director at Lucasfilm, said the company was "excited" about the project and that it aims to help preserve and revive interest in learning Welsh. The Guardian

The National Eisteddfod is Wales's biggest festival of Welsh-language music, literature, and performance. The 2026 event in North Pembrokeshire was chosen as the place to unveil the dub, connecting one of Hollywood's biggest film franchises to a language spoken by roughly 600,000 people, according to the most recent census data.

Lucasfilm also has a longer history with Wales. In 1979, a full-scale Millennium Falcon was built inside a hangar in Pembroke Dock, Wales, under the code name "Magic Roundabout," for use in The Empire Strikes Back. Scenes from Lucasfilm's 1988 film Willow and the 2024 TV series Star Wars: The Acolyte were also filmed in Wales. The Guardian

The broader context here is about minority languages and global entertainment. S4C, launched in 1982, is Wales's public TV channel for Welsh-language programming. It usually mixes original shows with content it dubs or subtitles into Welsh. Getting the rights to dub a franchise as big as Star Wars from Disney and Lucasfilm — companies known for being very protective of their films — is rare for a channel serving a minority language. The fact that Creative Wales, a government agency, helped fund the project suggests it was treated as both a cultural and an economic investment, not just a TV pickup.

Lucasfilm has described the dub as a way to help preserve the Welsh language. That fits a wider trend of big studios allowing their films to be dubbed into smaller or regional languages. The choice to cast famous Welsh-speaking actors with international careers, rather than using unknown voice actors, gives the project more visibility. Rhys Ifans and Matthew Rhys both have major English-language film and TV careers, so their involvement could draw in viewers who don't normally watch S4C.

The Christmas Day slot matters too. S4C has a tradition of showing special Welsh-language content during the holidays. Putting Star Wars: Gobaeth Newydd in that time frame signals it is a flagship event, not just a routine addition. The timing also builds toward the film's 50th anniversary in 2027, when Lucasfilm and Disney are expected to run broader celebrations across different markets.

The announcement does not say whether the Welsh dub will be available beyond S4C's own platforms. Because Disney has its own streaming services, the partnership between Lucasfilm, Disney, S4C, and the Welsh government could open the door to wider distribution. But nothing like that has been confirmed yet.

For people who follow language policy, the project is a test: can a blockbuster franchise, backed by public money, actually increase minority-language use and media production in Wales? It is a rare example of a major studio putting real resources into a minority-language version of a film, at a level usually reserved for large international markets, with the Welsh government helping to pay for it.