The First Viral Star Wars Video: Star Wars Kid

[@Larry]

Ah the days when it took 2 hours to download a 3mb video, then spend ages trying to get the thing to run in Real Player as it needed another update. :D

[@ogsegasteve9430]

what are you doing over here Larry? But as YOU say.....ello yew!

[@grotgrusson5124]

Plug ins are tight... 😄

[@tjkhanks]

Ha ha! Yes! I remember taking 4 hrs to load an Episode 2 teaser. The video was choppy, pixelated, and by the end of the less than two minute video the sound was off by about 5 seconds. Later that night, we went to a movie, and they played the same trailer. 🤬

[@ia5662]

Real Player hahaha wow

[@grotgrusson5124]

@@ia5662 My thoughts exactly 😄

[@fiercekrypton]

I feel like anyone that was normal had nothing but love for that video.

[@Necron-ez2cc]

The "Star Wars Kid" is more authentic to the property than anything Disney has made.

[@zod5966]

With better special effects.

[@richardcrook2112]

So true

[@collegeman1988]

And the Star Wars Kid did more research about Star Wars than anyone at Disney ever did. smh 🤦‍♂️

[@soylentteal]

Amen!

[@evandylan]

Let’s best completely honest. Him pretending to have a duel saber is what made it great. He could have been in the dark with an old school plastic retractable flashlight one, wouldn’t have gone anywhere. 😎

[@oldschooltommyim]

The sound effects are what make this truly special

[@johnbest1978]

I remember when this video came out. I was like holy crap there are others that do that. Thanks junkman.

[@jediknightjairinaiki560]

He did what all of us have done at some point in life, unfortunately not all of us were smart enough to record it. MTFBWY.

[@jebstuart4004]

Perhaps when we were 5 years old but big....

[@martinlepage7576]

Your so right!! All my friends and i did stuff like that at 12ish yo. The worst he said, the private school ( Séminaire St-Joseph) kicked him out because they couldnt manage the situation, the bullies stayed.

[@KevyNova]

I think that was the first viral video I ever saw and I loved it because the kid was so relatable. I still pretend to fight with a lightsaber.

[@theequalizer9154]

Great documentary video Junkman, great research as usual!

[@sergioleone3583]

Really nice video Junkman. I appreciated your take on this, it was empathetic without being pathetic. Nicely done.

[@beerdrinkingdwarf7139]

This is why I HATED High School back then

[@jebstuart4004]

sorry, but when you re not very popular at school and not as cool as a rock star, you know that you MUST NOT do that and/or record it.....

[@CourageDreams]

I remember watching this year's ago. I never new this had a back story. He was only being himself. The video clearly shows he was happy. Thanks junkman, You bring light to a darkened world.

[@anthonybocchino2305]

I absolutely did that! The super in my building was cleaning out the store room one day when I was a kid. My friend and I were going through all the stuff he was throwing out. We were about twelve at the time. Amongst the items he was getting rid of was a broken red mop handle, and a blue broomstick. Red and blue sticks... I think you can figure out the rest Lol 🤣 Keep up the great work Junkman! You RULE!!!

[@jcbvortex22]

before the Star Wars kid there was the legend of the Techno Viking! No body ever bullied the Techno Viking, he fights for justice and equality, which can’t be denied.

[@martok2112]

I'm glad it turned out to be a victory for the guy, and not a tragedy.

[@danielmorton8168]

Did you ever hear the tragedy of the Star Wars kid he joined the dark side of the force and became a lawyer

[@marklechman2225]

Just today I was doing some cleaning up and found an old lightsaber packed away…and guess what I did :) Glad the dude’s doing well, sucks to be bullied but you can either let it tear you down or help make you even stronger. Cheers, Star Wars Kid!

[@SIFIactual]

Internet Gold is sometimes under a little bit of dirt..

[@rickwj324]

LimeWire...those were the days! :-)

[@jakobfel2]

Despite the bullying that people gave the dude, that was a much, much better era of the internet. The glorious days before social media, back when forums were the primary way of socializing online.

[@ShinAdamSmasher]

You mean back when people got together online and talked about things they liked instead of grouping together to hate on things? Back when people who said completely BONKERS CRAZY things were obviously trolling instead of "doing their own research"? Those were glorious times.

[@jakobfel2]

@@ShinAdamSmasher EXACTLY what I meant.

[@andysalter7192]

I never went on forums or anything back then , in fact I was anti internet from day one . I knew exactly how it would end up and how it would be used to control the narrative politically or socially.

[@p.d.l7023]

As a practitioner of bo staff, his twirling wasn't bad for a beginner but that footwork was way off.

[@aylmerjohnson4906]

I use to do that daily too... Want to Fight about it!? 😂

[@williamrandall9502]

That kid looks like he was on the beat down list for sure. Is he a young Michael French?

[@williamwilkinson8735]

@willian randall......you know Mickey did this kind of thing thing

[@sampoernaquatrain1710]

GREAT video. So far nobody's mentioned any of the TONS of urban myths that circulated about this kid--how many here have heard "Oh, did you hear, George Lucas found out about his video, felt sorry for him, and he gave him..." I've heard everything over the years: money, paid for his education, a car, etc. etc.

[@HowardFeinstein]

Great job on this video! Thanks for sharing the story.

[@sunwentai1]

I was at his first public conference at Quebec Comiccon in 2021. They were recording the conference to add some of it to the documentary they were filming at the time about the Star Wars Kid. It felt so silly to me because, even though the guy himself looked fine and felt like any random guy you'd see on the street, his interviewer was putting WAY too much fake emotion into it all, it was slightly embarassing...for the interviewer. I know the documentary has now been released, but I haven't seen it yet.

[@jameswarrick778]

This is my first time hearing of him and seeing this video of 'the Starwars kid.' posting that video took deathStar sized balls. I got to say, I admire him for doing that. Thanks for the very cool video junk man.

[@virtuafighter3]

A martial arts expert should have taken him under their wing, and taught him privately for a few years to sharpen G's skills even more with the staff. That would have been beneficial. Then like in the Tarentino film 'K. Bill' G. should have gone after those who uploaded the video. A film should have been made of their meeting and with them grovelling that goes viral.

[@Vexer-rl9fq]

LimeWire and Napster. I remember those good times.

[@SporeZoo]

Great video, respect for the dude.

[@cmharnold]

I almost turned off the video when I saw DepresoBlasting in the first few seconds, thinking it was his.

[@slowraceultra]

I always thought he was a cool kid. Thumbs up for this video.

[@chronogaruda2003]

This reminds me of my first youtube channel. In 2015 I made a youtube channel reviewing Kenner Jurassic Park toys. Kids found out about it, and started picking on me, and purposefully disliked the videos. I even got a bunch of mean and racist comments on my videos. It was so bad that I eventually took the channel down. Years later I incorporated this into my current channel, which is an ARG disguised as a toy review channel.

[@lofi_4043]

It’s crazy how in the current internet age of irony this guy would be a hero now.

[@horseshoe2blah201]

This video popped up on my feed after I did a search for "Star Wars kid". I loved that video and all the numerous versions that were created. It was sad to hear the poor kid got bullied. I just regarded the whole thing as a bunch of internet fun.

[@shanester1832]

"Oh! You haven't saw the Star Wars Kid!?!? - What I heard b4 seeing my first viral video. I'd love to have seen George Lucas's reaction to this in real-time.

[@BruceWayne-mb4hk]

The dude is as graceful socially as he is physically. The last thing society needs is a lawyer with an axe to grind being able to rationalize his crusade because of indignation he has suffered.

[@stevedenis8292]

All the variations people adding effects to the original video so much fun then play him off with keyboard cat. Not the Hero we want but the Hero we deserve .

[@micolash3196]

2:46 Well, I mean welcome to the internet. Getting told to off yourself is like a second hello at this point.

[@boneheadbill9976]

This guy better be in the next f****** star wars.

[@constancecherry3996]

What oh no never

[@Moondust_Delight]

The only man who could beat Thanos.. Star Wars Kid

[@collegeman1988]

I remember the Arrested Development episode where the Bluth family discovers a videotape that has George Michael wearing his orthodontic headgear, jumping and bouncing around the garage with a golf club and Star Wars music playing in the background, and obvious tribute to the Star Wars kid.

[@chrisC052]

Yeah who's laughing now? This guy's making "bank". 👍

[@glennhubbard5008]

His fate, though cruel, must be borne.

[@LordDeShadow]

I can't even believe that he was never ask for a role or that he would decline if Disney ever ask him. This guy was not only the first viral phenomenon but also probably the first time we witnessed how monstrous humans could be toward one of their own. Im from Quebec and even tho I still laugh about the original footage, I kinda agree with this documentary creator. He was not acting like a kid would do, not only like a fan would do but like most adults would with a stick. I plead guilty myself! Im 40yo and still feel like a kid when I pass an automatic door or turn on a flash light 😅 This man needs to have a place in the cinematic universe and redeem himself just like Ahmed Best, the one who played Jar Jar Binks could in the Book of Boba Fett. P.S: I say all of this and I don't even consider myself as a huge Star Wars fan 😊

[@seereadnhear]

Junkman, this was your Sgt. Pepper of all your videos.

[@ThatJunkman]

I hope thats a good thing :)

[@seereadnhear]

@@ThatJunkman the Beatles best album that was done with heart.

[@Dale_The_Space_Wizard]

I didn't have access to the internet when this happened. However, a fellow student at art school showed me the video using a computer in the library. He told me that this Star Wars kid footage was casting footage from an actor audition to play Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. I had assumed that to be true, until now. I knew none of the information covered in this video. Over the years I have told many people that this was footage from a possible Darth Maul actor casting. I didn't realise just how wrong I was. LOL.

[@TrashLefties]

I loved the video, it was so me. Loved the You Should be Dancing one by the Bee Gees the best.

[@TimewornUncle]

1:10 a full PLEDGED Jedi Knight. LOL.

[@RadtoyzGalaxy]

Oh wow I did actually see this back in the day!

[@davidj5910]

Its funny, when you look at it you can see he is not being serious he is just having fun cause he has a camera in front of him. I never heard or saw this before. I love it cause now a days everybody is too cool to do this type of stuff or they do it purposely hoping to go viral. I feel bad for him being bullied and all but in the end im sure he's doing way better in life than any of those who bullied him. Great video JM!

[@karlkammer3050]

Good to see something positive eventually came out of what was just a bit of fun that others decided to mock.

[@ia5662]

love the warm embrace the JunkMan gave this kid - although he gave many enjoyment (I remember Ebaum's World!), I do feel bad that he was teased. Would have made a much better story if his peers embraced him and made him an honorary celebrity of the school.

[@qwaurk985]

Ah yes, the hours spent on Limewire getting files. One of the great things about growing up before the internet is that there isn't a record of all the stupid stuff we did.

[@shanester1832]

That's where I was introduced to this I think. Went to a friend's house who was hooked in to all that. It was an unreal discovery. "this doesn't feel legal" He left for work and I spent the whole day downloading every obscure song I could think of. Such a leap from special ordering cassettes & CDs.

[@Modellbaustammtisch]

Oh, the good old days, LimeWire etc... But I never saw anything wrong with that guy. I still use "the force" on any automatic door and I just turned 55, so what..? 😉

[@shawnrogers4076]

Legend.

[@thebanished87]

I did this type of sword dance using sticks but never filmed myself :))

[@williamwilkinson8735]

this was the beginning of the down fall of SW for me , this and when i went to go see Attack of the clones in the theater there were signs all over the theater banning SW fans from paying with their lightsabers in the theater .... and for the first time i was embarrassed to a SW fan ...also this was the first time i had actually seen SW fans dress up in costumes to go to the theater .....and i had laughed at Star Trek fans who did this now SW people were doing this .....too weird for me ......

[@ciscodeer9094]

I heard about this from Hellogreedo, it's an awesome video

[@crownofhorns4738]

Him and Jake Lloyd should get together. But they attacked him for being fat and talentless or whatever mucking around on camera, which he should of allowed to happen,lol. But he was doing what many us did when TPM came out, was pretend we were Darth Maul and have battles.many in the theater. Maul was bigger than Darth Vader.

[@Eddythebeast666]

Awesome... I didn't know he was from Canada.

[@nickletchford]

Since he shot that material It’s his IP. If he were able to make an NFT with a digital signature, he’d make millions $$$

[@neildavis2999]

It would be a cool move if Ray Park would take this guy to dinner or something like that.

[@francoisregis2155]

I remember I used to teach at the school were the star wars kid was. At the time it was to make fun of him cuz he was fat. I saw him in a episode of American Dad.

[@grotgrusson5124]

The Swedish news paper Aftonbladet had an article about the SW-kid. But those sneaky bastards hide/locked it under a payment-wall... 😐😄

[@diegoayala3224]

Man i did that every weekend outside with my friends after karate kung fu movies on Saturday tv here in NY back in the days 😀

[@soylentteal]

SWK should have gotten a bit part in one of the movies.

[@juanfierro7365]

I thought he was you

[@ThatJunkman]

I don’t got them skills

[@captlazer5509]

He was being Darth Maul, so missed named from the start. The kids who succeed and do cool things are the geeks in high school. James Cameron, Elon Musk are some examples.

[@gummyerin]

Legendary

[@letsgobrandon987]

Forget Revenge of the Sith this is Revenge of the NERD!

[@alexandralite835]

I remember when I first saw this, I thought it was funny, fun and great. I never thought anything bad about. I actually thought he was pretty good up to the bits where he slipped and stubbled.

[@lopaka76]

Nothing new here that wasn't in videos years ago.

[@ThatJunkman]

True dat. #cancelthatjunkman

[@chuckbangers2590]

Back when the internet was awesome...

[@ZackVieira]

Wait … a VHS file to a video file? 🧐

[@madmax8620]

**(PLOT TWIST!!!)*** "....and that kid went on to make a series of killer youtube videos for all dorks and nerds alike...and that kid is....ME! 'Junk Man'!!!"

[@nick_knows_stuff]

To bad he didn't have KZbin, if he did and uploaded today with the same number of views, he could have made a mint.

[@MrTuco40]

Glad to see he lost the weight.

[@ShinAdamSmasher]

I just assumed the "Star Wars Kid" as he was called had intentionally created and uploaded the video. Live long and prosper, Raza. (I know that's the wrong franchise, but it applies. DO NOT JUDGE ME!)

[@ThatJunkman]

he didnt upload it, the guys from his school that found the video did

[@ShinAdamSmasher]

@@ThatJunkman right. I am saying that I thought that UNTIL I watched your video. :)

[@grotgrusson5124]

The funny thing is that he isnt actual that bad of what he is doing, and trying to mimic. He sure is hell better than me of swinging that pole. Thats a fact check true. I think what made this into such a 'success', was that he was a bit chubby, and that he slides on the towle/blanket on the floor. If he would have been skinny, swung that pole at a faster pase (doing the _exact_ same thing), and not have slipped, we would never have seen this, not even from a " _WTF?! Take a look at this crazy dude and his skills!_ " perspective.

[@davidcastanuela7752]

that one youtuber was pretty mad at you bra. he made an 18 minute video Haha. what a cupcake 😅

[@ThatJunkman]

If they hate me then I must be doing something right to have them worried

[@davidcastanuela7752]

@@ThatJunkman I told him to calm down 😄😄

[@robd1329]

Haha..this was funny!

[@srider33]

Exceptional well done video. Keep up the good work and make this channel competing with the big names for deep dive research. Subscribe!

[@jus1332PSP]

You sound angry

[@alphashaitan65]

Great video. It's too bad he went through life eternally butthurt about it.

[@angermanagementstudios]

No lesbian space witches and identity politics? Nah, that’s not Star Wars bro.

[@DavisJ-ln6fw]

No awesome lesbian space witches and representation ? It's still star wars but different . Stay angry 🤣

[@thiagomoreiramotoboy]

🇧🇷

[@Straight0uttaCrofton]

i thought i saw him get a web redemption on Tosh.0 but maybe i'm imagining that