LOS ANGELES: Stormtroopers, droids and celebrities from galaxies near and far hit the red carpet in the shadow of a giant AT-AT assault vehicle on Saturday at the glittering world premiere of ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ — although one star almost didn’t make it.
John Boyega, who plays the heroic stormtrooper-turned-rebel Finn, had tweeted he feared missing the big event because a snowstorm had grid-locked air travel out of Atlanta.
“Trying to get back for the LA premiere! I actually NEED a pilot !!!” he lamented, before turning up in the nick of time for the big screening in downtown LA after managing to catch a flight.
“It’s thanks to Poe Dameron, the best pilot in the galaxy!” he joked on the red carpet, referring to the rebel pilot who aided his escape in the previous film.
He was joined on the red carpet by the rest of the all-star cast, including Daisy Ridley (Rey in the space saga) who arrived wearing a suitably shimmering dress decorated in stars.
Hotter than one of Yoda’s root leaf curries, the ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ is expected to cash in on 12 months of relentless hype with one of the biggest domestic opening weekends ever.
Thousands of guests lucky enough to get tickets were the first moviegoers in the world outside of the production to see the eighth installment of the blockbuster space saga.
Director Rian Johnson introduced the movie by bringing onstage the cast, and paid an emotional tribute to the late Carrie Fisher, the iconic General Leia Organa in the series, who died last December.
Moviegoers clapped throughout as she appeared onscreen, and rose for a standing ovation as the credits rolled.
“There aren’t enough words to express how much I LOVED ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It is mind-blowing! I’m in geek heaven!” tweeted Jenna Busch, a writer for fansite LegionofLeia.com.
“’Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ is so very different, exciting, surprising. So many emotions, so many amazing moments. Stay away from spoilers,” added Peter Sciretta of entertainment portal slashfilm.com.
The premiere came six days before the movie’s general release in US theatres, kicking off a run widely expected to be the most successful worldwide since 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Experts are predicting an opening weekend domestic box office of around $220 million, which would push it beyond ‘Jurassic World’ (2015) into second place behind ‘Awakens’ ($248 million). — AFP
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