May force awaken you – at midnight! No delay for Shropshire cinemas to screen films
It's been a decade in the making – but Star Wars fans in Shropshire won't be made to wait any longer than they have to for the arrival of The Force Awakens.
Cinemas across the county will put on screenings of the hugely-anticipated movie as close to midnight as possible on December 17 – the date of the film's release in the UK.
Odeon in Telford will be among the first to screen the film – the seventh instalment in the Star Wars story – at 12.01am, quickly followed by the Cineworld cinemas in Shrewsbury and Telford at 12.05am.
Interest in the film has been "crazy", according to cinema bosses.
The Force Awakens is set about 30 years after the end of The Return of The Jedi and sees the return of several familiar faces. Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher reprise their roles of Han Solo, Luke and Princess Leia respectively.
It is the seventh Star Wars film to be made, following on from Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), The Return of The Jedi (1983), The Phantom Menace (1999), The Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005).
It is the first film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, announced after The Walt Disney Companys acquisition of Lucasfilm in October 2012.
The film has an estimated budget of £126 million, if you also include the costs of marketing, printing, advertising and distribution of home videos that figure is over £280 million.
It has been predicted that the film will break all box office records and become the first to gross over £2 billion worldwide at the box office.[/breakout]
And it's certainly not confined to Shropshire. The release of a trailer for the film earlier this year provoked a huge reaction from fans across the world delighted to get a glimpse of what lies in store 30 years after the Galactic Empire was defeated.
It is expected to be the biggest film of the year by some distance. The Force Awakens is tipped to make more than one billion dollars at the box office – which would make it one of the biggest grossing movies of all time.
When it comes to the big day itself, crowds of fans will descend on cinemas late at night – many dressed up as the unmistakeable characters from the movie.
Cinemas across the country are reporting screen sell-outs on pre-sales alone.
Staff at the Majestic are already preparing themselves for a "fantastic night" – and still have a few seats left for their 12.05am showing.
James Frizzle, the venue's manager, said: "Since we put tickets on sale it has gone crazy. I have even heard rumours that some people are dressing in Star Wars fancy dress for the occasion – I can't wait, it is going to be a fantastic night.
"Earlier this year I was approached by some local Star Wars fans who asked if we could put on a midnight showing of the film on the day it's released.
"It seemed like such a fun thing to do I was happy to volunteer to work the extra time as this is such a big occasion for all Star Wars fans – myself included."
The Star Wars films helped to make the names of actors such as Harrison Ford as Hans Solo, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. All three will return for The Force Awakens, although a shroud of secrecy has emerged over what has happened to Luke and whether or not he has gone to the Dark Side since the end of Return of the Jedi.
Over the past few days the build up to the film's release has been dominated by spoilers about the plot.
Among the revelations is news that many characters from the original series have no place in the new movie.
Jar Jar Binks, the goofy amphibious character who irritated many Star Wars fans in the 1999 film The Phantom Menace, will not appear in the new movie according to producer Kathleen Kennedy.
It was news that was greeted with applause and cheers at a news conference.
Audiences of the new film also won't see any Ewoks, the furry creatures from 1983's Return of the Jedi, Kennedy said.
"That's because Harrison insisted on it," she said.
Ford yesterday appeared to give away a majort plot line when asked what his favourite part of the new film was. He described a scene where Rey engages in a lightsaber battle with the movie's villain Kylo Ren – immediately sparking rumours that Daisy Ridley's character could have Jedi potential.
There has also been considerable speculation over which characters could get killed off during Episode VII – especially as Ford lobbied George Lucas to kill off his character Solo in the 1980s while the original trilogy of films was still being made.
