Star Wars Mania at Fever Pitch Before New Film Opens

There are at least six Twitter accounts dedicated to “Star Wars spoilers”, though not all of them may actually be posting every last detail – and none of them now has more than 110 followers. But no, there’s still plenty of tales from the galaxy far, far away.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, over 15,000 tickets have been pre-sold in Russian Federation for “The Force Awakens” – the highest number the country’s box office has ever seen. Almost 40 years after Star Wars first hit screens, excitement for next week’s release of the latest installment in the blockbuster space saga is reaching fever pitch. “I am so excited about the movie that I can put up with just about anything for a week or so”, said Scott Allen, 51, a software technician in Los Angeles. A half-mile stretch of Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and La Brea avenues was closed off starting Friday. With an entire generation of fans having grown to love Ford as Solo, it will undoubtedly be hard for many of them to see any other actor present their own version of the character.

Beyond the Hollywood premiere, there are several special screening events planned across North America to celebrate the opening of “The Force Awakens”. But this week, as the plebeians continue to shiver in concrete-cushioned sleeping bags, workers have already been preparing the red carpet and all its accoutrements for the star-studded world premiere on Monday.

Of course, given that this is a prequel film and Han will be in his mid-twenties, there’s really no way Ford could have reprised the role.

In the Chinese version of the poster, actor John Boyega, one of the protagonists in The Force Awakens, appears marginalised and significantly smaller in size compared to the original.

She said: “I need to see it in an epic place with people who are just as excited about Star Wars as me”.

Directed by JJ Abrams, the film will be released on Thursday, December 17, with fans expected to queue up at midnight to see the first showings of the film at Coventry cinemas.

“When I first got cast, no one could know, so it’s three months of me going “alright I can deal with this, this is me”, she said.