For “Star Wars” fans, the center of the universe – at least for today – is Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center, which will soon host a presentation previewing the latest film in the franchise, “The Force Awakens.” Thousands of die-hard fans at Comic-Con camped out overnight – some of them since Thursday morning – outside the hall to secure seats to a panel featuring the film’s creators and stars, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday. JJ Abrams, the director of the blockbuster-to-be from Walt Disney Co. subsidiary Lucasfilm, had free doughnuts delivered to the fans in line this morning to thank them for their devotion. Adding to the big event nature, Hall H Line even has its own Twitter feed – @HallHLine – describing itself as the “longest, nerdiest, most demoralizing line at any convention ever made.” Only 6,500 of the 130,000 ticketed fans for Comic-Con can squeeze into Hall H for the panel, the most anticipated event of the four-day pop culture extravaganza. It remains a mystery precisely what footage, if any, from the feverishly awaited movie, to be released in December, will be shown or which stars will attend the panel. Speculation about that is rampant among the fans – as are fears that the best clips and big names for the film will be saved for Disney’s own fan convention, D23 in Anaheim next month. All will be revealed this evening, and fans – many of whom are dressed in “Star Wars” costumes ranging from Imperial Stormtroopers to Ewoks – hope it will all be worth the very long wait. May the force be with them.
