Yes fanboys and fangirls, tonight's the night. 32 years since the victory at Endor, the force awakens once again in a new beginning of a Disney-financed Star Wars era, and everyone (except scruffy-looking Nerf herders) is invited for the hyperspace jump. After months of teasing trailers that raised more questions than answers, and a Hollywood premiere Monday from which the celebrity audience emerged smiling but sworn to secrecy, the franchise's millions of fans will finally get to see it for themselves.
Disney — who bought the Star Wars franchise from its creator George Lucas for $4 billion in 2012 — has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep the plot shrouded in mystery before the general release, which has prompted a backlash against the film's fearsome publicity machine.