The force is still with them, so is film franchise
Rabid fans are pleased and, judging from the fresh tattoos, indelible marks are made.
Some came dressed as Stormtroopers. Some got R2-D2 tattoos. Some underwent Jedi training or stood in long lines for autographs ($125 for Mark Hamill but just $50 for Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca).
But like the Millennium Falcon in the grip of the Death Star tractor beam, the estimated 60,000 fans who attended the four-day Star Wars Celebration that ended Sunday were inexorably drawn to the Anaheim Convention Center for the same purpose: to share their passion for all things “Star Wars” and catch an early glimpse of the franchise’s next chapter.
Before the event, “Star Wars” fans had many more questions than answers about the future of the nearly 40-year-old franchise, with the first new “Star Wars” film in a decade, “Episode VII: The Force Awakens,” due in theaters Dec. 18.
“We’re really in uncharted waters,” said Eric Geller, a writer for the “Star Wars” news site TheForce.Net. “The fans have all taken something personal away from this franchise, and they’re really interested in
seeing where it goes next.”
By the end of the weekend, at least some of those questions were answered.
Lucasfilm, acquired by the Walt Disney Co. from series creator George Lucas for $4 billion in 2012, held a panel Sunday that offered an early glimpse at the first of several planned spinoff films, “Star Wars: Rogue One.” Though the film hasn’t begun production and isn’t set for release until December 2016, director Gareth Edwards showed a brief teaser, revealing that the plot centers on rebels who unite on a mission to steal the plans for the Death Star.
Edwards said “Rogue One,” set shortly before the events of the original “Star Wars” movie, would be essentially a war film. He told fans dryly, “It’s called ‘Star Wars.’” (Josh Trank, set to direct the second spinoff film, was scheduled to appear but bowed out because of illness.)
In the convention’s opening panel on Thursday, for which more than 2,000 fans had camped out overnight, “Episode VII” director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy sought to reassure the “Star Wars” faithful that the franchise is in good hands.
Abrams and Kennedy showed off a new trailer for “Episode VII” that bridged the series’ past with its future, climaxing in a shot of Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, with his sidekick Chewbacca beside him, saying, “Chewie, we’re home.” The trailer had fans cheering rapturously, some fighting back tears. (In the first 24 hours, it racked up some 88 million views online.)
“It was pretty emotional, because I grew up seeing the original movies,” said Boyle Heights resident Freddie Luevano, 37. “It hit a soft spot for me. Seeing the Stormtroopers brought back good memories.”
Abrams — who was joined on the stage by several of the film’s stars as well as a new droid character called BB-8 — shared his own memories of watching the original “Star Wars” when it opened in 1977. “I was 11 years old — and 11 was a great age to have my mind blown,” he said.
He told the crowd he once dressed up as a Jawa for Halloween, joking, “But I don’t want to tell you what year that was.”
The ever-expanding “Star Wars” universe also includes television and video games, of course, both of which were featured at Star Wars Celebration. Electronic Arts debuted a trailer for a video game hitting stores in November called “Star Wars Battlefront” and Lucasfilm screened the first episode of the second season of the Disney XD animated series “Star Wars Rebels.”
“There’s automatic pressure whenever you do anything with ‘Star Wars’ in the title,” said “Rebels” executive producer Simon Kinberg. “It’s like adding new books to the Bible.”
Furthering the feeling of nostalgia, cast members from the original trilogy — including Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) — held their own separate panels for fans, answering questions and sharing stories. Ford, recovering from injuries sustained in a plane crash last month, did not attend.
Fisher recalled partying with the Rolling Stones one night during the filming of the 1980 film “The Empire Strikes Back.”
“We stayed up pretty late, then we got to the set about two hours late, and we weren’t hung over — we were still in our cups,” Fisher said. “So if you watch the movie, it’s one of the few times that Harrison and I are smiling as we arrive in Cloud City.”
Hamill spoke of the thrill — and the heavy responsibility — that came with returning to the franchise that had launched him to stardom.
“It’s not, like, a choice,” the actor said. “It’s like I was drafted. Can you imagine if for some reason I said that I don’t think I want to do it? I would have all of you surrounding my house like villagers in a Frankenstein picture. Angry villagers, with lightsabers instead of torches.”
Indeed, “Star Wars” devotees take their fandom seriously, as evidenced perhaps most vividly by those who lined up to get a “Star Wars”-themed tattoo from one of 45 tattoo artists set up on the convention floor.
Alain Bloch, who was dressed in Jedi robes, said he was happy to give up an afternoon to get a detailed rendition of the script for the Jedi code permanently inked on his arm.
“I definitely want to get tattooed by someone who loves the culture and is willing to come out and dedicate their time,” said Bloch, 34. “What better place to get a ‘Star Wars’ tattoo to remind myself of this time, this place, these people?”
With eight months to go before “Episode VII” hits theaters, it remains to be seen whether the movie will live up to fans’ soaring expectations. As Yoda put it, “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.”
Nevertheless, Disney is feeling bullish. On Sunday afternoon, as fans began streaming out the convention laden with all manner of “Star Wars” merchandise, the studio announced that the next Star Wars Celebration will be July 2016 in London, with tickets going on sale Monday.