You've seen the poster, you've watched the latest trailer 20 times, you've already bought tickets. You are as ready for Star Wars: The Force Awakens as possible.
However, nothing will prepare you for the moment on Dec. 17 when you sit down your cushioned movie theater seat, ready to read the words "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" and aren't greeted by the familiar 20th Century Fox logo and the fanfare that always accompanies it.
As Star Wars is now owned by Disney, the 20th Century Fox logo won't be appearing in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, nor will the triumphant drum roll that always goes along with it. Instead, the 20th Century Fox logo will simply be replaced with the Lucasfilm one, and along with it, a small slice of music from Star Wars composer John Williams. Via Slashfilm, the piece of music that makes up the fanfare isn't new. If it sounds familiar to you, that's because it is. The tune first appeared in the trailer for The Phantom Menace.
Regardless, it works perfectly here, preparing viewers for the adventures to come. It sounds old, yet new, familiar, yet foreign — and it's John Williams. It's hard to complain about anything if John Williams is involved. It will take some getting used to for sure, but it's a fitting replacement. For comparison purposes, below is the old fanfare.
Here is the new one, courtesy of Jason Ward of fansite Making Star Wars.
That the old fanfare is gone isn't exactly new news. The new Lucasfilm fanfare was unveiled back in April with the digital release of the saga. Each film, except for A New Hope, has had the 20th Century Fox logo and fanfare replaced. Who exactly owns the rights to all the older films is kind of confusing, but it basically boils down to 20th Century Fox owning A New Hope forever, with the rest of the saga reverting to Disney in the coming years.
Fans shouldn't worry that the Disney castle logo may accompany the new films. As we've seen with the digital release of the saga and the latest trailer for The Force Awakens, the Disney logo is nowhere to be seen. Just as Disney allows for just the Marvel logo in each of the Marvel films, it looks like the Lucasfilm logo will be the only one to appear in future Star Wars movies.
We can all breathe easily. So far, so good. Now, all we have to do is wait. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is in theaters Dec. 17.
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