Tickets for the seventh installment of the Star Wars franchise went on sale in October. It's generated more than $100 million in pre-sales. For almost 40 years, fans have been obsessing over their favorite characters.
“Luke Skywalker, I know he’s cheesy but he’s definitely my favorite. He’s relatable, I feel like I can see myself in him,” Chase Rogers said.
“Han Solo is about to get frozen and Princess Leia looks at him and says, “I love you” and Solo replies, “I know.” I think it’s cool, he’s real confident in himself,” Ryan Zamboni said. “Reminds me of myself, pretty sly with the ladies.”
With two other Star Warriors, they showed up at the Parks Mall in Arlington. 10 hours before show time.
“We got here at 8:45, all the lights were turned off,” Noah Flint said. “We beat the manager here, we’ve been here a while. Only a couple more hours left so we’re pretty excited.”
Some North Texas theaters had marathon watch sessions, all six chapters in a row, capped by “The Force Awakens” at midnight. For Ryan, it’s about camaraderie.
“I normally wouldn’t have been so excited had it not been for these guys. We watched them all in the past week to get prepared for tonight. I’m excited, everybody’s a fan in their own way but I’m not diehard like these guys by any means,” Zamboni said. “I like the hype around it, I like to be a part of that kind of stuff.”
It’s easy to see what diehard looks like. Check out his friend Josh Del Rio’s outfit.
“It’s like a bad Christmas sweater but Star Wars style it says “Hoth Sweet Hoth” like “Home Sweet Home” but it’s talking about Hoth from “Empire Strikes Back,”” Del Rio said. “And then I’ve got a new Star Wars shirt with the old Han Solo and new Han Solo coming at you.”
Not to mention his cheesy logo hat. Josh says Ryan’s been trying to avoid spoilers.
“He said he’s being very cautious, didn’t want me looking at anything,” Del Rio said. “I was just looking at the critical response. Looks like we’re going to be OK as far as this film goes. We’re going to be all right.”
So the wait continues, even though these guys have reserved seats.
