LOS ANGELES (AP) – The reaction was strong to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at the film’s world premiere in Hollywood.
Inside the TCL Chinese Theatre, the audience began cheering Monday from the moments the movie’s first words appeared on screen and reacted excitedly to seeing the return of Han Solo and Chewbacca after a 32-year hiatus.
The audience also greeted newcomers, such as Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma and Daisy Ridley’s Rey, with vocal enthusiasm and loudly gasped at the film’s various twists and turns.
After the showing, audiences spilled out into an after-party held inside a giant tent erected on Hollywood Boulevard, where they snapped photos with Stormtroopers, lined up to build their own droid toys and noshed on salmon and short ribs.
For many of the celebrity guests in attendance, they wholeheartedly approved of director J.J. Abrams’ vision for the first new live-action “Star Wars” film in a decade.