A ‘true Star Wars fan’ showed his dark side after yelling, cursing and allegedly punching a moviegoer who used their phone during a Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker screening in Canada.
The heated interaction began at a 7.30pm showing of the new movie on Thursday night at Canada’s Scotiabank Vancouver Theatre.
Joe Bond and his wife, who were on a date night after the birth of their second child, had a ‘bad feeling’ after a man ‘aggressively’ asked staff how to find his seat and blew up at one attendee for filming the opening credits.
Then, the man’s fury turned to Bond after his phone vibrated and he checked to see if it was his kids’ babysitter.
An unidentified man, who refers to himself as a ‘true Star Wars fan’ lashed out at moviegoers with an angry rant during a screening of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in Canada
He told Global News: ‘I thought I was getting a phone call from our baby sitter. It was the first time my wife and I had been on a date with both our kids being looked after, so I pulled out my phone really discreetly to see if it was the baby sitter calling. It wasn’t, so I put it back.’
That was the final straw for the overzealous fan who began berating the entire audience in a shocking outburst captured by ViralHog.
‘I am a real Star Wars fan!’ he shouts, pointing at the crowd with indignation.
Bond said: ‘I told him to calm down, and he didn’t calm down — and then he hit me in the face. There was a lot of people filming the situation because it was pretty hilarious.’
Pictured: two employees at Canada’s Scotiabank Vancouver Theatre attempt to escort the man out of the theater as he argued with attendees
Star Wars superfan: ‘Use your f****** heads! Welcome to the 21st century! I waited a goddamn year to see this so some a****** can turn his phone on next to me? You’re f****** losers with your phones’
He continues to yell at moviegoers as staff attempts to escort him out of the packed theater.
‘Turn your phones off! Turn your phones off!’ he says, while digging his phone out of his pocket and condescendingly waving it around.
‘Use your f****** heads! Welcome to the 21st century! I waited a goddamn year to see this so some a****** can turn his phone on next to me? You’re f****** losers with your phones!’
The crowd chanted ‘Out!’ and boo’d the man as he continue to yell at moviegoers about their phones
The fed up crowd can be heard chanting ‘out!’ and let loose a chorus of boos as the unidentified man is finally removed from the theater.
The man’s exit caused a round of applause and cheers from the audience.
Vancouver police confirmed that they dispatched to the movie theater around 8pm to address an ‘unprovoked assault.’
Authorities were unable to locate the suspect when they arrived, but are reviewing CCTV footage in an ongoing investigation.
A spokesperson for the Cineplex said one person was removed from the screening and the the movie was subsequently restarted for remaining viewers.
Bond (pictured): ‘I told him to calm down, and he didn’t calm down — and then he hit me in the face. There was a lot of people filming the situation because it was pretty hilarious’
‘Luckily, the Force was strong with the Cineplex team who ended up rewinding the film for the remaining guests. They got a round of applause out of appreciation from the fans!’ Sarah Van Lange said in an email to Global News.
Following the movie’s release on December 20, Rise of Skywalker raked in an astonishing $500million in its first week and $32million on Christmas Day.
However reports of fans getting seizures and negative reviews have cast a shadow on the franchise’s latest flick.
Emily Suzanne Jones, a 19-year-old from New Orleans, suffers from epilepsy and underwent a seizure after watching just 30 minutes of the film.
Rise of Skywalker raked in an astonishing $500million in its first week and $32million on Christmas Day
‘It lasted from 30 seconds to a minute,’ she told New York Post.
‘I recently watched the original trilogy and it didn’t remotely bother me, but this last one is particularly flashy. I wish they had been a little smarter about it. There is so much special-effects technology to have that effect you wanted but being a little more conscious and safe about it.’
Megan Wharry, a 23-year-old from California who also has epilepsy, said the film caused a migraine and a pre-seizure episode called ‘aura.’
She said: ‘I thought about [leaving the theater] but then I toughed it out. … I did get up and go to the bathroom to feel better.’
‘Do I wish I listened to my body? Yes, but I liked the movie.’
In response to report of seizures during Rise of Skywalker, Disney released a letter telling cinemas to warn viewers about potentially harmful special effects
In response, Disney released a press statement to movie chains and theaters cautioning viewers about the special effects used in the film.
‘Out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that you provide at your venue box office and online, and at other appropriate places where your customers will see it, a notice containing the following information,’ they wrote.
‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ contains several sequences with imagery and sustained flashing lights that may affect those who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy or have other photosensitivities.’
Additionally, the Mandalorian star Jake Cannavale called the film ‘hands down the worst Star Wars movie.’
‘An absolute f****** failure,’ he said in a now deleted Instagram story.
Cannavale (pictured) called Rise of Skywalker ‘hands down the worst Star Wars movie. An absolute f****** failure’
The Rise of Skywalker current;y sports a 57 percent rotten rating from Rotten Tomatoes, and among the most prestigious critics surveyed, only 48 percent praised the film.
That’s in comparison to 2017’s The Last Jedi, which received rapturous reviews and a 91 Certified Fresh rating.
That movie, which was directed by Knives Out’s Rian Johnson, was criticized by fans who felt it departed too much from their expectations. The movie was also the target of sexist and racist trolls who criticized the prevalence of new characters, including Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico.
The son of The Irishman actor Bobby Cannavale said the sequel ‘rendered the entire new trilogy completely useless. There were more plot holes than there was plot. The amount of “by the way’s” was absolutely infuriating [sic].’
‘Rise of Skywalker (btw dumb*** title) was worse than the Phantom Menace AND Last Jedi combined. Fight me,’ he continued.