Months of anticipation will finally end for devoted fans tonight when “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opens, but the excitement will build throughout the day in Hollywood with a daylong marathon of the original films and a wedding for a pair of devotees who have been camping outside the TCL Chinese Theatre.
The El Capitan Theatre will play host to a marathon of the first six “Star Wars” films, culminating with one of the first screenings of “The Force Awakens.” The showings will begin at 1 a.m. and continue for 20 hours.
The marathon will be shown in order of the storyline. In other words, the first film shown will be the fourth one that was released — “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.” The marathon of original films will end with “Return of the Jedi,” then move to the screening of “The Force Awakens.”
The event is sold out.
Meanwhile, two die-hard “Star Wars” fans will tie the knot in a gala ceremony at the Chinese Theatre forecourt, where they have been camping out with dozens of other fans to be among the first to see the new film.
Caroline Ritter, 34, a mining company truck driver, and Andrew Porters, 29, a firefighter, will be wed by Obi-Shawn Crosby in a ceremony that will feature a brigade of Stormtroopers, and Darth Vader walking the bride down the aisle. Baskin-Robbins will provide a themed wedding cake, and witnesses will toss movie popcorn, instead of the traditional rice.
