The Welsh Government has faced criticism after £100,000 of public money was reportedly put towards a Welsh-language version of the original Star Wars, with critics questioning whether the spending represents the right priority for taxpayers.
Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd, the Welsh dub of the 1977 film A New Hope, has been produced by Lucasfilm and Disney in partnership with S4C and the Welsh Government through Creative Wales.
The project features a high-profile Welsh cast, including Matthew Rhys as Han Solo and Osian Morgan as Luke Skywalker, and is due to air on S4C on Christmas Day. Welsh Conservative Senedd member Janet Finch-Saunders has attacked the spending, saying the Welsh Government should instead focus on pressures facing the Welsh NHS.
The project, however, forms part of a wider Welsh-language strategy that includes supporting Welsh-language productions and increasing the number of Welsh speakers.
£100,000 Star Wars Bill Draws Criticism
The row centres on the reported £100,000 contribution from the Welsh Government towards bringing one of the world's best-known films to Welsh-speaking audiences.
The original Star Wars: A New Hope was released in 1977 and has since become one of the most recognisable films in cinema history. Now, almost 50 years after its release, Welsh speakers will be able to watch the film with its dialogue performed in their own language for the first time.
The Welsh version has been given the title Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd, which translates as A New Hope. It is the result of a collaboration involving Lucasfilm, Disney, S4C and the Welsh Government through Creative Wales. The project was announced at the National Eisteddfod in Pembrokeshire earlier this month.
The casting has also given the project a strong Welsh identity. Matthew Rhys, known internationally for his acting work, voices Han Solo, while Osian Morgan takes on Luke Skywalker. Rhys Ifans voices Obi-Wan Kenobi, Aimee-Ffion Edwards plays Princess Leia and Mark Lewis Jones provides the voice of Darth Vader.
Other members of the cast include Llŷr Ifans as C-3PO, Nia Roberts as Aunt Beru, Richard Harrington as Grand Moff Tarkin, Owain Arthur as Red Leader and Rhodri Meilir as Gold Leader. The dub was directed by Ellyn Stern and produced by Michael Kohn, Lucasfilm's director of distribution operations.
For critics, however, the issue is not the casting or the popularity of Star Wars. It is the use of public money to help fund the project.
Welsh Conservative Senedd member Janet Finch-Saunders has described the decision as 'completely out of touch'. She argued that the Welsh Government should be concentrating its resources on problems facing the Welsh NHS rather than helping to produce a Welsh-language version of a major Hollywood film.
She said: 'The focus of the Welsh Government should instead be on tackling the challenges facing the Welsh NHS.'
Finch-Saunders added: 'We champion the Welsh language but the Welsh Government's priorities appear completely out of touch.'
Her criticism places the spending within a familiar political argument over public finances, with opponents questioning whether government support for cultural projects should take priority when public services are under pressure.
The £100,000 figure is therefore likely to attract attention because the project involves one of the world's biggest entertainment franchises. For critics, the involvement of Disney and Lucasfilm makes the use of government funding particularly difficult to justify.
The project partners, though, view the initiative differently.
Lucasfilm co-president Lynwen Brennan, who was born and raised in Wales, has welcomed the opportunity to bring Star Wars to Welsh-speaking viewers. She said Welsh speakers would finally be able to experience the film in their native language and hoped it would create the same emotional response as watching it again for the first time.
Brennan's involvement also gives the project a personal connection to Wales. Rather than simply being another international version of an established film, the Welsh dub brings together a group of Welsh actors and a major Hollywood production company around the language.
Why The Welsh Language Project Matters
The Government's backing for the film does not stand alone. Support for Welsh-language broadcasting and production forms part of its longer-term Cymraeg 2050 strategy, which aims to reach one million Welsh speakers by 2050.
The Welsh Government's current action plan says it will continue supporting Welsh-language productions and content through Creative Wales' production funding, while working with S4C. It also identifies culture and media as part of the wider effort to promote and support the Welsh language.
The Government has also established a Cymraeg 2050 subsidy scheme running from April 2025 to March 2029. Its stated objectives include increasing the use of Welsh, creating new and confident speakers and strengthening the infrastructure surrounding the language. The scheme covers sectors including education, arts, entertainment and recreation.
That makes the Star Wars project easier to place within the Government's existing language policy. The argument from its supporters is not simply that public money has been spent on a film. It is that Welsh-language content needs to exist across different forms of entertainment if the language is to remain part of everyday life and appeal to different generations.
The Government has also backed other Welsh-language film initiatives. In 2025, Creative Wales joined S4C and Film Cymru Wales for the Sinema Cymru funding programme, designed to support Welsh-language feature films with international and big-screen potential.
More recently, the Welsh Government said it was continuing work towards its ambition of one million Welsh speakers. Its July 2026 update highlighted plans to strengthen Welsh-medium education and create an integrated pathway through the education system.
The Star Wars dub therefore sits within a much larger effort to increase the visibility and use of Welsh.
There is also a practical entertainment angle. Major international films can give a language exposure that smaller productions may struggle to achieve. Star Wars already has a huge audience, meaning the Welsh version starts with an established cultural identity rather than asking viewers to discover an entirely new story.
Lucasfilm has said that the project is also connected to the franchise's upcoming 50th anniversary. The original film will reach that milestone in 2027, making the Welsh-language version part of the celebrations around the landmark.
The choice of Star Wars is also notable because Wales already has links to the franchise. The Millennium Falcon was built at Pembroke Dock, while parts of the wider Star Wars universe have been filmed in Wales.
The Welsh Government has separately promoted Wales as a destination for major screen productions, with Creative Wales supporting projects that bring production activity and spending into the country.
That context helps explain why supporters may see the project as more than a translation exercise.
The criticism, nevertheless, is unlikely to disappear simply because the project has cultural objectives. For taxpayers, the central question remains whether £100,000 is an appropriate use of government funding, particularly when the money is being used alongside private entertainment companies such as Disney and Lucasfilm.
The timing of the broadcast may also make the debate more visible. Gobaith Newydd is scheduled to air on S4C on Christmas Day, giving Welsh-speaking households the chance to watch the film in Welsh during one of the biggest television viewing periods of the year.
For supporters of the Welsh language, that is precisely the point. A familiar film featuring some of Wales' best-known actors can bring Welsh into a setting where audiences may not normally encounter it.
For critics such as Finch-Saunders, however, the same project represents a questionable spending decision when other public services require attention.
The dispute ultimately reflects two competing views of what government funding should achieve. One sees investment in language, culture and media as part of preserving and expanding Welsh for future generations.
The other asks whether taxpayers' money should be used for a high-profile entertainment project involving global companies when there are other demands on public finances.
Whatever view is taken, Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd will now become an unusual part of the franchise's history. The film that introduced audiences to Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and the Force will, for the first time, be heard entirely through the Welsh language when it arrives on S4C on Christmas Day.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the controversy surrounding the Welsh-language version of Star Wars?The controversy involves the Welsh Government's decision to allocate £100,000 of public funds to produce a Welsh-language version of Star Wars, with critics arguing that the money could be better spent on other public services like the NHS.
- Who are the key figures involved in the Welsh-language Star Wars project?The project features a Welsh cast including Matthew Rhys as Han Solo and Osian Morgan as Luke Skywalker, and is produced by Lucasfilm and Disney in partnership with S4C and the Welsh Government.
- What is the purpose of the Welsh-language Star Wars project?The project aims to support the Welsh-language strategy by increasing the number of Welsh speakers and promoting Welsh-language productions.
- When will the Welsh-language version of Star Wars air?The Welsh-language version, titled 'Star Wars: Gobaith Newydd', is scheduled to air on S4C on Christmas Day.
