UNC Charlotte student and “Star Wars” superfan Riley Howell touched hearts nationwide after heroically giving his life while protecting classmates from a mass shooter in April. In honor of the late Star Warrior’s sacrifice, Lucasfilm has made Howell a “Jedi master,” reports radio station WFAE.

The Lucasfilm story group “has incorporated a re-imagining of Riley’s name as a character in the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy,” Lucasfilm fan relations representative Lucas O. Seastrom wrote in a letter to Howell’s family this past May. He appears in the newly-published Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — The Visual Dictionary,” based on the space opera’s latest installment, which opened in theaters last week.

The student hero and ROTC cadet was immortalized in the space compendium as Jedi master Ri-Lee Howell, one of the lightsaber-wielding guardians of the galaxy. His character is also a “historian … [who] collected many of the earliest accounts of explorations and codifications of the Force in the Aionomica,” an interstellar scrapbook, per the dictionary.  It’s a fitting tribute given Howell’s “encyclopedic knowledge” of “Star Wars,” said friend Matthew Westmoreland in a Reddit post.

Even “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill — Luke Skywalker himself — threw his support behind Howell’s induction into George Lucas lore. He tweeted his support Tuesday afternoon.

SHOUT OUT to RILEY HOWELL whose courage & selflessness confronting senseless gun-violence is inspirational to us all-This real-life hero has become Jedi Master RI-LEE HOWELL in the official #StarWars canon. May his memory live on from here to eternity! https://t.co/3bkgXaKOpx

— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) December 24, 2019

Howell inclusion in the series came about serendipitously when an internet fan read about his “Star Wars” affinity and reached out to the franchise big-wigs.

Word of Howell’s baptism into Star Wars-dom has since gone viral on Reddit, sparking an outpouring of support. “He became something even greater than he grew up idolizing. A hero then and a hero now,” said one newfound fan.

“Now and forever the name Riley Howell will be synonymous with the way of the Jedi — heroic, courageous and selfless. My condolences and may the force be with you,” said another.

Most importantly, the gesture honors Howell’s heroic deed. This past May, the 21-year-old UNC student died while tackling a gunman who opened fire in a University of North Carolina at Charlotte classroom. His courageous sacrifice saved lives in the rampage, which killed two people and left four injured.

“He was a hero to us even before this [his Star Wars immortalization] happened,” said Westmoreland.