Barack Obama’s Sign Off at Year-End Press Conference: “I Gotta Get to ‘Star Wars'”

President Barack Obama wrapped up his year-end news conference on Friday informing reporters that he had to “get to Star Wars.”

Indeed, the White House was hosting a screening of the movie in the WH private theater, with First Lady Michele Obama greeting children of Gold Star families, an organization founded in 2005 by individuals who lost family members in the Iraq War. The screening is part of the Joining Forces initiative, which has received strong support from Star Wars’ new director, J.J. Abrams. (Abrams was traveling back from London and was unable to attend the screening, according to a rep.)

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After the president’s press conference, Josh Earnest made an unannounced appearance in the briefing room alongside a pair of ‘Star Wars’ Stormtroopers and R2-D2, according to a White House pool report. Earnest explained that the characters were part of the White House’s ‘Star Wars’ event.

“This is pretty cool, isn’t it? You gotta admit, this is pretty cool,” Earnest said. Reporters joked that the appearance of the Stormtroopers “now clears up which side of the force the administration is on.”

This just happened. @PressSec poses with storm troopers pic.twitter.com/IiFnzJVF21

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) December 18, 2015