Star Wars: The Force Awakens European Premiere
by Joanna Orland
The stars were out in full force (yup, I went there) for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens European premiere which took place in London’s Leicester Square on Wednesday December 16, 2015.
Original trilogy cast members Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Warwick Davis, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker and Anthony Daniels joined new cast members Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Simon Pegg, Gwendoline Christie, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Max von Sydow and more on the red carpet. Director J.J. Abrams was also on hand to give an inspiring speech about his passion for taking over Star Wars, while the man behind Star Wars, George Lucas himself, was on hand to sign autographs and metaphorically pass the torch to J.J..
The chaos excitement didn’t stop there. There were a ton of celebrities in attendance including Star Wars: Rogue One cast members Felicity Jones and Mads Mikkelsen, superstars Benedict Cumberbatch and Noel Gallagher, and British institutions including Stephen Fry and Mark Owen. I just assume everyone in the world was at this premiere – it was insane and I’ve probably caught pneumonia from standing out in the cold for 4.5 hours.
It wasn’t just humans who attended the epic premiere, but droids C-3P0 and R2-D2 took the carpet as did the real star of the show BB-8. Oh, and there was a parade! A Star Wars Imperial March parade! This amazingness saw many characters from the Dark Side’s Darth Vader and Kylo Ren to favourites Boba Fett and Chewbacca parade around Leicester Square in one of the most fun things I’ve ever seen at a premiere. Then the First Order Stormtroopers took the carpet to let their presence be known.
Not one disturbance in the Force was felt as this was potentially the largest and most fun premiere Leicester Square has played host to. You can see our photos and videos of the night below, but most importantly you can check out our interviews with Star Wars stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Simon Pegg and the man behind Chewbacca – Peter Mayhew.
Harrison Ford
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Mark Hamill
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Adam Driver
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Daisy Ridley
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Simon Pegg
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Peter Mayhew
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