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Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
A Star Wars protagonist poses for a photograph during a instrumentality normal called the Star Wars Celebration Japan successful Chiba, adjacent Tokyo, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
CHIBA – The Force was with galore Japanese, arsenic good arsenic visitors from abroad, astatine a “Star Wars” lawsuit connected Friday wherever Lucasfilm announced that the adjacent installation successful the franchise volition deed theaters successful May 2027 starring Ryan Gosling.
Appearing connected signifier earlier a lightsaber-waving assemblage astatine Makuhari Messe halfway extracurricular Tokyo, Gosling showed a photograph of his puerility bedsheets, plastered with illustrations from the abstraction epic created by George Lucas.
“I conjecture I was dreaming astir ‘ Star Wars ’ adjacent earlier I saw the film,” Gosling said.
Shawn Levy, who volition nonstop the movie, told the assemblage that “Star Wars: Starfighter” volition not beryllium a prequel oregon a sequel, but a caller standalone escapade with caller characters acceptable respective years aft “Episode Nine.” Filming starts aboriginal this year, helium said.
Levy, who besides directed the 2006 movie “The Pink Panther” and the caller Netflix bid “Stranger Things,” said small else, noting: “I can’t accidental overmuch astir it due to the fact that I recognize the rules.”
Only the rubric was shown connected a elephantine screen, though that was capable for the assemblage to burst into cheers.
The event, called Star Wars Celebration, which runs done Sunday, is afloat of "Star Wars"-themed merchandise including T-shirts, toys, books, manga comics, AC chargers, cellphone covers, autographs, posters and more.
The Lego booth featured a antheral wearing the ominous achromatic disguise and cloak of Darth Vader, made retired of Legos. The deep-breathing villain besides appeared arsenic accepted Japanese lacquerware decorating earphones successful a constricted variation of 10, each selling for 990,000 yen ($7,000). Darth Vader T-shirts were much affordable astatine 8,000 yen ($56).
“It makes maine truthful blessed to deliberation everyone present loves ‘Star Wars,’” said Yoshiki Takahashi, 26, who was holding a remote-controlled R2-D2 miniature robot.
“I emotion the directing, the dependable of the weapon and the lightsaber, but supra each the story, with large combat scenes and, of course, quality drama,” helium added.
Another Japanese man, who said helium goes lone by Hiro, was dressed arsenic the “Star Wars” quality Mandalorian, successful a elaborate costume helium made himself, implicit with a integrative sword and armor.
Also contiguous were “Star Wars” fans from astir the world, including a robed Raul Herrera, a machine subject teacher from Chile, who was determination with friends.
“All of them,” said Herrera, erstwhile asked which ‘Star Wars’ films he’d seen. “The consciousness of committedness of the characters, I truly similar it.”
With offshoot stories spanning generations and virtually the cosmos, “Star Wars” is 1 of the highest-grossing franchises of each clip since its 1977 debut, starring Mark Hamill arsenic Luke Skywalker.
It whitethorn beryllium earthy that “Star Wars” appeals to Japanese: Its communicative astir a samurai-like leader who befriends assorted characters on his travel echoes the nation’s fables, arsenic good arsenic legendary Akira Kurosawa films.
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Yuri Kageyama is connected Threads: https://www.threads.net/@yurikageyama
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.
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