After taking us back to 1950s Hill Valley with its live-action Back to the Future experience last year, Secret Cinema is striking back with its next instalment which will be a must for Star Wars fans and sci-fi nerds!
With an extended run now booked from June the 4th to September the 27th, Secret Cinema presents Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back will take attendees from a hidden London base to a “galaxy far, far away” with scenes from the cult sci-fi sequel performed live by actors and stunt performers while the movie is projected onto a huge screen.
As with the BTTF event in 2014, which featured Doc and Marty-alikes, the Hill Valley fair and the famous clock tower as the town centrepiece, favourite characters and familiar settings from the Star Wars saga will be recreated at the secret London location. We expect fans will be able to encounter and interact with the likes of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Darth Vader while exploring destinations such as Hoth and Dagobah before the film begins.
The idea of Secret Cinema is that you don’t get told the venue and follow cryptic instructions sent to you leading up to the event. They’ve been gathering publicity for some years now with movies such as Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters leaping off the screen for incredibly immersive experiences which go beyond the realms of 4D cinema.
But it’s not all been great publicity and last year the Back to the Future event suffered website crashes due to the high ticket demand and opening week delays which were said to have been because the massive set was just not ready and many wannabe time travellers found themselves disappointed at the gates.
The Gadget Helpline can attest that when the show actually went ahead it was superb. We were there and had a great time back in 1955 (despite the rain and it being an open venue) and there was even a guest introduction by the film’s co-writer Bob Gale. The event really delivered and we have a new hope that Secret Cinema will do good with Star Wars this time around.
Tickets for Secret Cinema presents Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back will go on sale tomorrow (Wednesday 18th March) at 13:00 and are predicted to cost around £75 each, which is quite a step up from the BTTF prices, and on top of this there’s the expenses to consider for food and drink when you get there and the cost involved in preparing a costume if you want the full experience. Despite these cost factors we still expect the ticket website to get hit harder than a Death Star trench run.
