"Star Wars" will bring the force to China like never before as the Shanghai International Film Festival announced with Disney that it will screen all six episodes of the current franchise and all within a week's time.
Movie organizers said in a
statement that it will be the first time ever that the first three movies in the trilogy – "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope," released in 1977; "Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi," (1983) – will be released domestic to theaters in China. The festival runs June 13-21.
"Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace," "Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones" and "Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith" were all shown during their original release dates in China in 1999, 2002 and 2005, respectively, said the film festival.
"According to well-informed source in Walt Disney Pictures, (the) 'Star Wars Epic' is so popular in the world that it also has a large number of fans in Chinese mainland," said the film festival. "To show all the six movies of 'Star Wars' during Shanghai International Film Festival, they hope to make use of the brand of SIFF with national radiation, so that more 'Star Wars' fans will be able to get together to celebrate and welcome the arrival of the new episode 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens.'"
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which is scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 18, is one of the most anticipated movies of the 2015, featuring an new mix of lead actors with original stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.
Disney chief executive Robert Iger said earlier this month after the announce of the company's second quarter earnings report that he was concerned about interest for the "The Force Awakens" peaking too quickly,
according to The Wrap. He pointed to a teaser trailer for the film that garnered 88 million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours.
"We want to be careful that the demand does not create too much in the marketplace too soon," said Iger. "We have been deliberate with everything we have done so far, both in terms of product and marketing. We've already got some increased product in the marketplace but the real ramp-up in terms of consumers won't come until a few months before the release."
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