'Star Wars' grips Hollywood with 'Rise of Skywalker' premiere

The final film in the epic 'Star Wars' trilogy of trilogies brought Hollywood to a standstill Monday, as a galaxy of VIPs from the space saga that began four decades ago descended on a glittering world premiere. Veterans Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo) arrived to bid farewell to the movies that launched their careers in style at a futuristic hangar filled with life-size X-wing starfighters in Los Angeles.

Heading the glitzy premiere were the new film's young stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac.

Plot details have been kept tightly under wraps. But director JJ Abrams has said the trio's characters - Rey, Finn and Poe - will be reunited on-screen, after scattering for 2017's 'The Last Jedi', which divided fans. The film is set one year after its predecessor, and at 141 minutes will be slightly shorter. Abrams returns after his first outing, 2015's 'The Force Awakens', broke the all-time North American box office record, making him the only person other than Lucas trusted to helm multiple 'Star Wars' installments.

'The Rise of Skywalker' officially concludes the so-called 'Skywalker saga' of films begun by George Lucas in 1977 - a fact Disney's all-conquering publicity machine has used to ramp up hype on an intergalactic scale. Analysts predict a stellar $200-$225 million at domestic box offices this weekend, which would put the film among the biggest openings in movie history.

Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo in the 'Skywalker saga' was also in attendance at the film premiere, remembering his old friend and co-star Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the film franchise. She died in 2016 of a heart attack.

"Tonight, looking at this whole mise-en-scene is quite bewildering," Anthony Daniels, who has played droid C-3PO in every main "Star Wars" film, told AFP. "In fact, it's such a big experience that I'm not sure I can quite cope with it. But I do feel proud to be here and proud to be part of it."

Disney has whetted fans' appetites further by releasing new clips and trailers at the weekend. In one, a returning Emperor Palpatine's voice declares, "This will be the final word in the story of Skywalker," while Star Destroyers and red Stormtroopers battle X-wings and Resistance fighters. A second saw the villainous Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) growl, "I know who you are. I know the rest of your story," sending fans abuzz over the long-standing mystery about heroine Rey's parents.

Analysts predict a stellar $200-$225 million at domestic box offices this weekend, which would put the film among the biggest openings in movie history. Disney chief Bob Iger told AFP that fans would get "some kind of closure, some sense of satisfaction" for their favorite characters. "Star Wars is probably the most important, most valuable mythology of our time, of the modern time," he said. "If you just consider the global base of fans that have worshipped this storytelling since 1977, over 40 years... tonight being a culmination of nine films is an incredibly important night."