IT HAS been 3865 days since the last Star Wars film was released in 2005, but today fans of the series will finally get their next dose of the blockbuster saga.
The seventh instalment of the popular franchise, The Force Awakens, opens today and is predicted to break box office records in Australia and around the world.
Star Wars devotee Mark “Wookie” Gunton said he had been counting down for today ever since the film was announced in 2012.
“It was November 12 last year that they released the first teaser trailer, so we’ve been waiting a long time,” he said. “I’ve dressed up for the premieres of episodes one, two and three, and have been waiting eagerly since.”
Mr Gunton joined hundreds of Tasmanian Star Wars fans overnight who were among the first in the world to see the film at midnight in Hobart and Launceston.
In Hobart, more than 4000 pre-sale tickets to the film were sold in 2D and 3D sessions, he said.
The Force Awakens is the first in a new Star Wars trilogy series and the first to be released since Disney acquired the films’ founding company Lucasfilm in 2012.
This article was originally written for The Mercury