Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr. is an associate professor of theatre arts at Loyola Marymount University, the author and editor of ten books including "The Empire Triumphant: Race, Religion and Rebellion in the Star Wars Films", and a contributor to numerous volumes on sci-fi, pop culture and religion, including essays on "Godzilla", "Star Wars", and" Battlestar Galactica". His areas of expertise include Japanese theatre, African theatre, Shakespeare, Greek tragedy, stage combat and comedy.