To further promote Disney's "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens," the entertainment company placed 500 Stormtrooper replicas on Wednesday along the Great Wall of China. It was specifically located on the steps of the wall's Juyongguan section.
Along with the replicas, there is a very large billboard with the title of the movie in Chinese characters, reports TechTimes. The setting up of the replicas, designed to attract Chinese viewers to the movie, follows the release on Monday of the film's trailer.
Although there is no release date yet for the movie in China, Disney drums up interest in the second-largest film market by also giving away lightsabers and other official movie merchandise. In the U.S., the film opens on Dec. 18 in time to catch the Christmas holiday moviegoers. Given the past performances of the six Star Wars films in the box office, this seventh offering of the franchise is expected to be a blockbuster also.
SFgate reports that YouTube channel Science vs. Cinema features an extended trailer of "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awaken" that runs for almost four minutes. The trailer organizes and edits all teasers related to the anticipated movie in one fluid clip.
For Chinese moviegoers to better understand the film, the six prequels would be available via streaming through an agreement that Disney and 20th Century Fox inked with Tencent in September. Tencent is part of the Alibaba e-commerce website that has millions of customers.
Carol Choi, vice president for marketing of Walt Disney Company China, explains, "By working with Tencent we can extend the Star Wars franchise to Tencent's massive base and go to the heart of digital lifestyles in China."