An eagle-eyed Star Wars fan has come to the realization that his family was very likely photobombed by George Lucas during a trip to Walt Disney World nearly 20 years ago.
Mark Chase took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a photograph of his family posing for a picture at the world-famous Florida theme park in February 2005.
He was 11 at the time. In the background, sitting down just to the right is a man who looks suspiciously like Lucas.
Chase and his family didn't really pay much attention to the man in the backdrop until around a decade after the picture was first taken. Even then, they were initially convinced it was little more than a doppelganger.
Though doppelgangers do exist, the chances of finding one remain slim at best. In fact, a 2015 study published by researchers from the University of Adelaide, Australia, put the probability at around one in a trillion.
Chase told Newsweek: "We kind of joked that it looked like him, put the photos away and didn't think about it again, until just recently when we decided to go to Google and see what we could find."
After a little Internet sleuthing, Chase discovered evidence that Lucas was at Disney World when they visited.
According to an article published on the website wdwmagic.com, Lucas was indeed at Walt Disney World in February 2005, on a week-long vacation. As part of the trip, Lucas visited the "Jedi Mickey Mouse" at the Disney-MGM Studios.
The visit came ahead of the release of Revenge of the Sith, the final film in his Star Wars prequel saga, which hit cinemas in May of that year.
Chase said he was surprised how "shockingly easy" it was to find proof, with the website carrying several images of Lucas in similar attire to that of the man in the photo.
Eager to find confirmation, Chase decided to share the picture to X, under the handle markvchase. At the time of writing, the post has been viewed 4.2 million times, earning 1,900 retweets and a glut of comments.
Several fellow Star Wars fans were quick to spot signs the picture was indeed that of Lucas having found other pictures of him from the visit wearing the same belt, watch, and shoes.
Some were left in disbelief at the idea of being photobombed by Lucas. "This can't possibly be real," one user wrote. Others felt sure it was. "It's 100 percent him," another X user said.
A few were impressed to the point of being borderline jealous. "Dang that's so freakin cool! I love that!," one tweeted. Others, meanwhile, just decided to have fun with it. "That's Elvis," one user declared while another reflected that it was "Funny how sightings of George Lucas have the same vibes as sightings of Bigfoot."
The official Star Wars X account also acknowledged the sighting. Newsweek has reached out to a representative for Lucas to try and get confirmation.
In the meantime, Chase has been blown away by the response to the tweet.
"The discovery was pretty crazy," he said. "The Internet seems to be running with it. They love a good mystery. Hopefully, the virality can get us some confirmation as to whether it really is him or not."
If you have a similar family dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured in Newsweek.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Beresford is a Newsweek Senior Internet Culture & Trends Reporter, based in London, UK. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
