Anticipation hovers over the geeks of Liberty. Fans are plagued by that mixture of uncontrollable excitement and unstoppable nervousness. That desperate hunger for Star Wars lives in their brains like a starving Sarlacc that has been waiting far too long for its next meal.
The next Star Wars movie is coming out December 18. The Force is about to awaken, and “excited” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Many of us pretend to be old enough to remember the golden age of Star Wars movies, decades ago when special effects were still great and Mark Hamill didn’t look ancient. George Lucas set the bar in 1977 for all sci-fi movies, and there is skepticism as to whether a movie can now really capture the beautiful tackiness that Star Wars is supposed to represent.
“Star Wars is a series that many of the hardcore fans have been watching since they were kids and there’s something about the cheesiness of all of it that just makes people really excited,” junior Logan Allan said.
However, the director will be JJ Abrams, who has directed the recent and Star Trek movies. This, combined with the inclusion of the actors from the original trilogy (particularly Harrison Ford) has given Star Wars fans a new hope. No one knows where The Force Awakens is going to go with this next generation of Star Wars.
“I am curious as to where they’re taking it because the sixth movie definitely did have a final feel to it,” Allan said.
IMDB estimates that The Force Awakens will earn around $225 million opening weekend and a total of $1.8 billion overall. This estimate seems more and more likely when you consider the multitudes of fans willing to spend several hundreds of dollars on fancy midnight showings.
Allan will be spending $220 to go to a showing so exclusive that they serve food and have a never-before-seen interview with JJ Abrams at the end.
“I personally think it’s worth it because Star Wars is something that’s really important to me. There are always really hard times in people’s lives, and they cope with it in different ways. For me I escape through fictional worlds… There’s something about the cheesy good versus evil that always makes people feel better when situations seem so grey and murky,” Allan said.
Maybe you have every quote memorized from all six movies, have a poster of Han Solo on your wall, and have prepared a wookiee costume for this momentous occasion. Maybe you are planning on marathoning Star Wars the night before because you’re the only one in your friend group that doesn’t know who the heck Anakin is and why people confuse him with Darth Vader. Or maybe you are the sole person in the world who appreciates Jar Jar Binks (if so, stop). Whatever the case, The Force Awakens is more than just a date on a calendar. It’s a holy day for sci-fi geeks and an initiation ritual for those not quite at that level.
So may the Force be with you as you await The coming of this next movie. The tantalizing hints left by the trailer are too little to satisfy, and December 18 seems like it’s in a galaxy, far far away. I know it will be hard, but as Yoda would say, “Patience… Learn you must!”