London, France Get Star Wars Peeks
It's good to be a Star Wars fan — if you live in Europe.
George Lucas' final addition to the saga, "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" will debut in France. And Londoners will get an early glace as well.
All six chapters of George Lucas' science-fiction saga — including the final one, "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" — will screen in a daylong marathon May 16 at London's Leicester Square.
About 1,000 tickets will go on sale Monday morning for the marathon, which will give fans a chance to see "Revenge of the Sith" three days before its U.S. and United Kingdom debut May 19, according to California-based Lucasfilm. Tickets will be available at the Empire Leicester Square box office and online.
The marathon will begin at 7 a.m. with the original "Star Wars" and run about 14 hours, plus meal breaks. The evening screening of "Revenge of the Sith" will be held across the street from the film's London premiere, which Lucas will attend along with key cast members.
"Revenge of the Sith" chronicles the final steps to the dark side for Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) as he transforms into Darth Vader, the villain of the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
In an edit room at Skywalker Ranch, George Lucas gave 60 Minutes Wednesday's Leslie Stahl what millions of fans would kill for: a sneak peek at "Revenge Of The Sith".
"It's much more dark. It's much more emotional. It's much more of a tragedy," says Lucas.
The new film is the last of the three prequels Lucas began six years ago. In "Episode I: The Phantom Menace", Anakin Skywalker was a cherubic 9-year-old boy. In "Episode II: Attack of the Clones", Anakin fell in love.
Now, in the final episode, Anakin succumbs to the dark side, and to his inevitable fate, becoming Darth Vader.
"We're going to watch him make a pact with the devil," says Lucas.
The climactic battle takes place on a sea of fire — lava, actually — on a planet filled with nothing but volcanoes.
"Do you actually take us down, in the biblical sense, into hell," asks Stahl.
"Yes, the lava at the end," says Lucas. "It ends in hell."
Star Wars fever is popping up all over the globe. The Cannes Film Festival is even screening Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," making special room outside of competition for it an another American film, Woody Allen's "Match Point."
"Revenge of the Sith", clocking in at two hours and 20 minutes, will screen on the French Riviera four days before its U.S. debut on May 19. The film will be shown out of competition at the 58th annual festival, which will also feature one of the first screenings of Gus Van Sant's Kurt Cobain-inspired flick, "Last Days."