10,000 deployed troops will watch Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker for free
The Force will be with the armed forces.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens worldwide Dec. 20, but 10,000 US service members will get to see it early. Beginning Wednesday and running through Jan. 5, troops in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates and undisclosed locations in Southwest Asia can travel to a galaxy far, far away without leaving their base. The presentation is courtesy of Disney and the Army & Air Force Exchange Service.
The long-awaited movie "is a big morale boost," Exchange Service CEO Tom Shull in a press statement. "These service members are away from family and friends during this special time of year -- and seeing a big release at the same time it's being shown back home strengthens their connection with family and friends and eases the tensions of deployment."
The two companies also teamed up to release Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens in similar ways.
In late November, a British man with a terminal illness also got to see the film early. The patient and his family watched the film at Rowans Hospice in Hampshire, England.
Previews for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker begin Dec. 19. CNET critic Richard Trenholm says it ticks all the boxes, but there's way too much going on. A two-minute free preview of the film was released with Wednesday's episode of The Mandalorian on streaming service Disney Plus.
