Force awakens in Tri-Cities

The Tri-Cities looked like the icy planet Hoth on Thursday. But that didn’t stop movie fans who have been waiting since long, long ago to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Manuel Diaz, 26, waited at the Fairchild Cinemas in Pasco wearing the red uniform of the Emperor’s Royal Guard.

Diaz and his brother, Louis, who came as a Jawa, arrived at 1:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show and weren’t even near the front of the line. By 6 p.m., the line of people with their tickets pre-purchased weeks ago wrapped around the back of the theater building.

Manuel Diaz of Kennewick made the outfit so he could become a member of the 501st Legion, an international organization of Star Wars fans who wear screen-accurate replicas of costumes worn by the franchise’s villains. In other areas, there’s a club for Star Wars heroes too.

Diaz has been a Star Wars fan since he was 6, but decided to make his uniform after seeing people dressed as Darth Vader and other characters at the RadCon science fiction convention in Pasco several years ago.

“I was totally blown away by it,” he said. “I really wanted to get into the cosplay scene.”

Diaz began researching the guard’s uniform, including his red helmet and robe. He ordered parts of the uniform from several countries.

“Your costume has to be 100 percent movie authentic,” he said.

The 501st Legion might be bad guys, but it has allowed Diaz to take part in some good work because its events raise money for charity. He said the organization raised $23,000 for Seattle Children’s Hospital at a convention a few years ago.

Diaz has been waiting months to see the seventh installment in the Star Wars saga.

“I remember seeing the trailer last year and jumping up and down like a kid at Christmas,” he said.

Paul Lindberg of Kennewick wasn’t in the Tri-Cities for the opening day. He drove to the Seattle area with his wife so he could see Thursday’s premiere on an IMAX screen.

He plans to drive back to the Tri-Cities on Friday to take his kids to an evening showing. They also bought tickets for Saturday afternoon.

“We’re planning to see it a few times,” he said. “We’ll see; we may go Sunday, as well.”

Lindberg became a Star Wars fan in 1981 when he first saw The Empire Strikes Back. He was amazed how the story had elements of science fiction, but still featured universal themes like family.

“It was like nothing I’d ever seen before,” said Lindberg.

Lindberg, 42, is such a fan that he attended the Star Wars Celebration fan event in April in Anaheim, Calif. The four-day conference featured director J.J. Abrams and several of the actors. He already has purchased VIP tickets for next year’s fan event in London.

And this year alone, he read more than 15 Star Wars novels, which are part of the LucasArts-licensed Expanded Universe.

Lindberg regularly wears Star Wars T-shirts, but didn’t become a costume guy until recently, when he ordered a full stormtrooper outfit. He hopes to join the 501st Legion.

“It’s nothing I would wear to a theater, just because it’s not very comfortable,” he said. “It’s something I would do more for a charity event.”

Besides, some theaters are not big on moviegoers wearing masks and carrying replica blasters.

“With all the stuff going on in the world, they’re kind of cracking down on that,” he said.

Some of the cast of the original trilogy are back for the new movie, but Lindberg looked forward to seeing the younger stars of the film.

He compares it to when then-little known Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher appeared in the first films.

“Our hope for the new trilogy is something similar,” he said. “When you have a number of characters who are relative nobodies, it’s kind of history repeating itself, which is really exciting.”

Diaz was looking forward to seeing the famed opening sequence, in which viewers are updated about what is going on in the Star Wars universe.

“I’m hoping everybody cheers as the giant Star Wars opening title rolls on the screen,” he said.

The movie opens at regular times Friday at the Fairchild Cinemas in Pasco and Richland, and Carmike Cinemas in Kennewick.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 8:28 PM with the headline "Force awakens in Tri-Cities."