How was I not informed that tickets for Star Wars Episode 9 was going to go on sale last night? Did anybody know? The only thing I saw announced was the release of the final trailer during Monday Night Football.
Honestly though, I had forgotten that Episode 9 was even coming out this year. We’re deep into October already so there’s only about two months until the film plays in theatre, and the excitement - for me at least - just isn’t there. Either I’m still massively hungover from the madness of Avengers Endgame (a masterpiece), or Rian Johnson really did kill the enthusiasm with his Episode 8 effort.
Of course, JJ Abrams will redeem it for all of us, won’t he? While his record of properly finishing things he started isn’t great (looking at you, Lost), from what I’ve seen so far in the teaser trailers, he’s at least sprinkled enough enticement to get me into the theatre on opening day. One word: Palpatine. It turns out what we truly want is an endless nostalgia trip: for the few criticisms of The Force Awakens being a rehash of A New Hope, the severe lack of continuity in The Last Jedi was a step too far in the other direction, to put it nicely
Anyways, yesterday evening I started to notice on twitter that people were successfully buying tickets for Episode 9. Alarmed that I’ve missed the memo and the good seats for opening day are completely gone, I decided to check on the Cinemark app anyways, to see if there’s any luck for me. I had flashbacks of trying to get tickets for Avengers Endgame, and that it was only due to the fortune of my friend that our group was able to secure an opening day show. To my surprise - at least for Cinemark theatres - the craze for the final episodic Star Wars film (for now) is not nearly of the same timbre as Endgame.
Because, I was able to secure a 7 PM Friday showing with ease; smack-dab center seating, too. There was no virtual line, and the app didn’t crash - I was done with purchasing in a matter of minutes. Perhaps the commotion I saw online for tickets is for Thursday shows? I can see how for those tickets it would be massively more competitive. Good thing I’m not in a position to go to the movies on Thursdays: one, I have work, and two, I’m too old to be watching a movie at midnight - even if it is Star Wars. Hashtag sleep.
I’m looking forward to The Rise of Skywalker. It’s going to be the last time we see the famous scrolling words in space for a while, so let’s savor the moment to fullest.
I do wonder how fast one of those little yellow things can go…