This weekend is a significant one for Star Wars fans. After waiting two years since The Force Awakens, Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi finally arrived in theaters. The sequel had some seriously high stakes, as it brought back Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker and continued the main narrative of the franchise. Anticipation and the fear of spoilers has been so high that many fans made sure to haul ass to the theater for its first showings, so you can imagine the disappointment when one theater had a technical malfunction.
An AMC theater in Burbank, California recently experienced just this, and the results weren't pretty. The sound of one screening didn't function for ten minutes, leading fans to freak TF out. The incident has gone viral, partly because of the passion seen from the costume-clad Star Wars fans whose nights were ruined after years of anticipation for the blockbuster. It was all caught on film, check it out below.
During a screening of The Last Jedi Friday night, the sound malfunctioned and no audio was accompanied for the first ten minutes of Rian Johnson's sequel. This ruined the movie, prompting the generations of hardcore fans to rush back into the lobby and demand for the theater to restart from the beginning. The theater refused (presumably to keep to its schedule), resulting in a near mob situation in the AMC lobby.
Safe to say, The Force was NOT strong with this particular showing of The Last Jedi. And it's enough to make even the most casual fan of the franchise turn over to the Dark Side.
This video shows the rabid fandom of the Star Wars community. The Last Jedi has very high stakes, and fans pre-ordered their tickets weeks in advance. The TV spots for the film also tease the massive spoilers, and how important it is to see the film without letting anyone ruin for you. Normally scoring tickets for opening night would guarantee this, but there's no accounting for Murphy's Law. What could have went wrong did, and moviegoers at the Burbank AMC were forced to take a refund and hope there were spots to squeeze them into a later showing of the film.
While this unfortunate accident seems like a nightmare for everyone involved, and you have to empathize with the fans in this moment. While waiting two years for answers to the burning questions left behind in The Force Awakens is bad enough enough, the stakes were even higher considering The Last Jedi was Carrie Fisher's final performance as Leia. Fans grew up with these characters, and wanted to see a proper ending for the legendary actress, comedian, and writer. Having Leia's final go on the silver screen ruined no doubt struck a chord for the generations of fans who shelled out money for an early screening.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in theaters now, and be sure to check out our 2018 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
