Daniel Fleetwood
1983-2015
Greetings followers and welcome to the fourth and final installment Star Wars: A FORCEful Awakening. Though it might be hard to believe, the first official showings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens begin tonight. It has been a long wait these past few months but now our patience has finally paided off and fans will finally get to see the return of one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time. With a lot of you guys heading to the theaters tonight, I wanted to take this time to reminisce on all the amazing fan moments leading up to today. Buckle up Star Wars fans!!! This ones for YOU!!!!!
A Forceful Celebration
Upon seeing the first teaser trailer in November of 2014, the annual Star Wars convention held in Anaheim, California was arguably a lot more anticipated than originally thought. Not only was the majority of the cast set to appear, but the first official trailer for the film was announced to debut.
But that wasn't the only big thing that happened at Celebration. Midway through the panel, a special guest appeared on stage and lead to an obsession of this unique and adorable character.
Video of BB-8's entrance
But of course, the biggest moment came at the end of the panel when the trailer was finally shown to the thousands of fans and well....just see for yourself.
Video of Live Reaction to Trailer
As you can see, fans were livid with excitement as the emotional trailer officially signified the return of Star Wars. Amazing we are now at the point where we are about to experience the film. Crazy how time flies.
Comic-Kaze
About 3 months later, Star Wars made waves again by making its return to the annual super bowl of pop culture, San Diego Comic Con. Fans showed up in droves to get a potential encore of Celebration. They stood outside in line for days looking to get into Hall H.
The wait was made even more sweet when Kathleen Kennedy and JJ Abrams got ALL the fans in line donuts.
Once inside, fans were treated to a plethora of surprises including an appearance from one of the thousands of practical effect creatures
Bobbajo Hits the Stage
Later on, an exclusive behind the scenes featurette showed the dedication and love the film was being shown.
Video of Comic Con Reel
And just when you thought the panel couldn't get any better,
a special guest dropped by.
Video of Harrison Ford's Surprise Appearance
But that's not all, JJ decided to spoil Star Wars fans even more by giving them another amazing surprise.
JJ's Surprise
Comic Con was no question won by Star Wars as the anticipation began to grow at an alarming rate.
Footage of Concert Finale
Happy Force Friday
September 4th was the next big fan blowout as Disney and various stores around the world participated in Force Friday. Numerous stores sold thousands of Star Wars merchandise to celebrate the release of the new film. Some fans walked away with a handful of goodies while others literally cleaned the stores out.
Force Friday Preview
Not to be left out of the fun, stars Daisy Ridley and John Boyega attended the Force Friday event in London and were plenty excited to get their hands on their character's toys.
John and Daisy During Force Friday
Force Friday was a financial fire storm just months before the film's release with fans young and old indulging in various collections of merchandise. But one toy in particular stole the show and was the hot item all week. Wanna take a guess what it was?
Yep!!! Can't say I'm Surprised.
Just Let It In
The NFL's Monday Night Football matchup between the NY Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles had a pretty good amount of hype around it but not in the way you think. Fans stuck through the entire first half of the game just to see the long awaited final trailer for the film. The trailer was met with monumental acclaim and emotion as fans appetite for the film grew larger.
Live Fan Reaction At Downtown Disney
In addition to the trailer, that day also marked the official launch of advanced tickets to the public. Numerous records were broken including an incredible $6.5 million in IMAX presales. As of today, The Force Awakens has reached over $100 million in pre ticket sales. While some fans got their tickets the day they came out, others found it difficult. As a result of the high demand, serveral ticket sites including Fandango, Movie Tickets.com, and IMAX.com crashed due to overwhelming traffic flow.
Report of Ticket Sales
With records broken and an emotional trailer, Star Wars fans could hardly wait for the release of the movie. The force was strong that month and has clearly carried over to today.
Now that we have highlighted your best moments, Time to get you guys ready for the movie. Here are some tips you need to know to have a successful opening weekend:
Tip 1
Get To Your Stations!!!
For those seeing the movie tonight, there is a good chance there are already fans lining up. Try and get there as early as you can to avoid missing out on the best seats.
Tip 2
Suit Up!!!
If you're one of the millions of Force Friday mega shoppers, you already have an incredible assortment of shirts for the movie. Come decked in your best Star Wars outfit and show your pride. (But be aware that a good amount of theaters are banning mask, helmets, blasters, and lightsabers. Respect their wishes and don't cause any problems with the theater)
Tip 2
Jar Jar Binge!!!
I know the title of this next tip makes you wanna log off but bare with me. If you wanna have the previous films fresh in your mind when seeing the next one, try to watch all of the films prior to seeing it to get even more hyped for the next installment. My advice would be to just watch Episodes 4-6.
Tip 4
NO SPOILERS!!!
I don't think I have to elaborate on how vital this is!!!! If you have been on the internet in the past week, we have thousands of fans urging everyone to not spoil the movie. Some even going as far as to saying don't even talk about it when your leaving the theater. JJ Abrams has stated he wants fans to go into the movie completely spoiler free. But of course, this is the internet and trolls will be licking their chops to try and ruin the most anticipated movie of the decade for fans hungry to see it. Probably a good idea to avoid the internet as much as possible if you can.
And remember, Some fans aren't afraid of doing this to people who spoil the movie.
You've been warned.
Tip 5
All Wings Report In!!!
Nothing better than seeing Star Wars than with the people you love. Grab you kids, your wife, your girlfriend, and best buddies and make it the best night ever.
And finally... Tip 6...
WATCH AND ENJOY!!!!
This is something that none of us thought would happen. But we have been blessed with another Star Wars movie. Enjoy every bit of it and cherish this day for it is one that will be long remembered.
Well guys, that concludes my four part Star Wars special. Thank you for taking the time to visit as we get set for the release of the movie. To those seeing it tonight or during the weekend: have fun, be safe, and remember..
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