It’s a far cry from the current approach to these libraries that now come with hype reels but in practice are really, really nice community centers. On Monday, to mark Star Wars Day—”May the Fourth Be With You”—Obama released a video promoting the opening of his library with Luke Skywalker himself, actor Mark Hamill
“Mark, I am glad you are here. I want to tell you about someone,” Obama says in the video. “A young person born into ordinary circumstances but restless, unsatisfied. A kid with big dreams. A bit of a rebel. They join a scrappy group of underdogs and set out to change things,” the former president continues.
Hamill gets the nod to the Star Wars origin story: “By blowing up a giant space laser?”
Obama, now 64, leans into the dad-joke vibe, saying it’s a campus for the next generation, “a place to come together, get inspired, and become a Force—for change.”
The public is going to get its first in-person look on June 19. The sales window opened on Wednesday is already sold out into late July. Tickets are $30 to visit what could be the last traditional presidential library in a while.