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Courtesy: Wix

By Michael Calandra

What better way to launch the holiday season than by having a Star Wars celebration? After months of speculation whether Disney would drop the final trailer on one of its network properties, the answer was revealed on October 21st at halftime during ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast of the Jets vs. Patriots. Fans around the world were presented with breathtaking images of the trailer in the final installment of the Star Wars saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. If you missed the trailer, watch it here.

While both football junkies and Star Wars enthusiasts gathered around their television sets and devices to witness the groundbreaking sneak peek, moviegoers were offered a unique experience at the Regal Cinemas in Ronkonkoma, New York.

In preparation for the franchise’s final movie, the multiplex entertainment venue gave guests attending that night an unexpected treat by showing an enhanced version of the final trailer of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker followed by an epic frenzy of Star Wars trivia that had special prizes up for grabs. For movie guests, it was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one, as fans of the franchise were taken aback by the theater’s special planning.

Local comic book artist and Star Wars fan, Patrick Peck, who was in attendance for that night’s showing excitedly said, “I am more excited about a Star Wars movie than I ever was before. Initially, I wasn’t comfortable with watching the trailer, because I’m someone who likes to go into these movies without an idea of what it’s going to be like. Seeing what a great job Disney did with keeping a lot of the scenes a secret and not giving too many details away, makes me feel happy that I got to experience something special tonight.”

Among others in attendance was Smithtown, New York resident Kody Kohut, who offered his reaction to the theater’s showing of the trailer. “You couldn’t have asked for more of an awesome night. I’m here with my friends because we went to go see Zombieland, but before that, we were shown the trailer for the new Star Wars movie. And on top of that, they hosted trivia for the audience that was in attendance. I’m not a huge Star Wars fan, but I am a fan when it comes to great hospitality and being provided with special entertainment, so I thought these guys delivered well tonight,” enthusiastically said Kohut.

The expectations for the film are at an ultimate level, as fans hope Director J.J. Abrams and Disney/Lucasfilms fulfill the promise of ending the franchise on a high note, versus the franchise’s previous jaw-dropping episode, The Last Jedi directed by Rian Johnson, which happened to be the most divisive film in the history of the Star Wars saga. In that film, critical opinions ranged from it being “the best movie since Empire Strikes Back to “an all-time low” for the franchise, with some fans even going as far as boycotting the final movie based on how the last one ended.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be unleashed in theaters on December 20th.