Final 'Star Wars' film grips Hollywood on its world premiere

• Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford arrived to bid farewell to the movies that launched their careers.
• Who's who of Hollywood were present at the premiere with special guests from Steven Spielberg to Spike Lee.

LOS ANGELES: The final film in the epic "Star Wars" trilogy of trilogies brought Hollywood to a standstill Monday, as a galaxy of VIPs from the space saga that began four decades ago descended on a glittering world premiere.

Veterans Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo) arrived to bid farewell to the movies that launched their careers in style at a futuristic hangar filled with life-size X-wing starfighters in Los Angeles.

They were joined by a who's who of Hollywood, with special guests from Steven Spielberg to Spike Lee.

"Tonight, looking at this whole mise-en-scene is quite bewildering," Anthony Daniels, who has played droid C-3PO in every main "Star Wars" film, told AFP.

"In fact, it's such a big experience that I'm not sure I can quite cope with it. But I do feel proud to be here and proud to be part of it."

"The Rise of Skywalker" officially concludes the so-called "Skywalker saga" of films begun by George Lucas in 1977 -- a fact Disney's all-conquering publicity machine has used to ramp up hype on an intergalactic scale.