Chiefs’ rookie wide receiver Chris Conley has a unique perspective on the ‘Star Wars’ fervor

Considering his obvious smarts and attributes like running the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds and a 45-inch vertical, the Chiefs expect that rookie receiver Chris Conley could become a force not long from now in this very galaxy.

“He’s a sharp guy, hard worker, studier, great talent and ability,” offensive coordinator Doug Pederson said. “Now we’re starting to plug him in in certain roles and give him a handful of plays here and there. And he’s a guy that you have to have on the field.”

In this particular moment, though, Conley may be best known for what he’s done off the field: making “Star Wars: Retribution,” a 26-minute movie he orchestrated in 2014 that has become a YouTube sensation with 547,175 views as of early Friday evening.

If he were back home in Georgia, chances are on Friday night he would have worn some of his “Star Wars” paraphernalia to see the freshly released “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

That by itself sets him apart in a locker room he fleetingly tried to claim was brimming with teammates and staff talking about the latest blockbuster in the franchise.

And, sure, rookie center Mitch Morse is quick to say, “Han Solo — that’s my guy!” And of course there are other fans.

But Conley’s smile was a giveaway when he suggested another devotee was Jeremy Maclin, whose locker is alongside.

“It’s kind of a running joke in the building,” Conley said. “Everyone’s talking about me going to see the movie.”

With good reason, as it happens.

Conley’s set of collectibles extends well beyond what he’s been amassing since seeing “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” in 1999 — and then being besieged with action figures, clothing and about anything else bearing the movie’s signature.

His stockpile is distinguished by costumes and props and other keepsakes from the movie he was moved to write, direct and organize during his junior year at the University of Georgia.

In his dorm watching YouTube videos one day, and having seen plenty of fan films, he thought he had a good idea that there was no reason he couldn’t make happen.

“Instead of just thinking of something,” he said, “actually doing it was really what it came down to, a ‘put up or shut up’ kind of thing.”

Through movie nights with his family, he’d long been a fan of the “Star Wars” serial. And he particularly related to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

“I try and think of myself as a guy that takes after a hero character and a guy that kind of seems underappreciated the whole time until he dies,” Conley said via teleconference the night the Chiefs drafted him in the third round.

At the time, he added, “Just one of those things about being taught by my parents to never let go of who you are: Remain who you are regardless of what everyone around you says.”

That mind-set helps account for why Conley launched the improbable project that features scenes inside Sanford Stadium and appearances by, among others, then-Georgia coach Mark Richt and current Rams star Todd Gurley.

As a journalism major, Conley already felt at ease with the written word.

He also had long held a fascination with storytelling that perhaps in some ways shows up with his inclination to draw and ability to sing and play guitar and piano.

Along with his brother, Charles, an artist who specializes in stop-motion animation, and his sister, Catherine, who went to school for film, Conley was known to dabble in various forms of artistic expression.

“At one point, I had downloaded software and started doing 3-D model animation,” he said, quickly adding, “I didn’t say I was good at it. I said I tried it.”

He’d need that intrepid spirit for this project that took six months to create and ultimately involved between 50 and 60 contributors of various sorts.

“I had to relearn the art of storytelling,” he said. “I was used to (the written form), but so many other things go into the film process.

“But other than special effects and shooting, producing, writing and directing, the storyboarding, I had to do on my own.”

But his powers of networking and persuasion were crucial, too.

For instance, Conley recruited a then-Georgia freshman named Grayson Holt — “born with a laptop,” Conley told Rolling Stone — to do the CGI at the start of the movie.

“It really just started by me trying to surround myself with the most talented people I knew and bringing those people together to have one common goal,” said Conley, who has 15 catches entering the Chiefs’ game Sunday at Baltimore. “Maybe their talent wasn’t in film, per se, but they had a talent that could lend value.”

By the time the production made its big-screen debut in the summer of 2014 at a small independent theater in Athens, Ga., Conley could say, “We were able to make some pretty cool stuff happen.”

Conley, now working on other film projects that he didn’t elaborate on, was expecting to see something pretty cool Friday night even if he initially was skeptical of J.J. Abrams as director.

“I’m optimistic,” he said. “I’m glad that these new movies will introduce some people who don’t know the story to something that a lot of people have connected with.”

Just like the past ones — including his version.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ rookie wide receiver Chris Conley has a unique perspective on the ‘Star Wars’ fervor."