Star Wars fans everywhere are eating the chocolates in their advent calendars, but they're not counting down to the 25th of December. Oh no, their anointed day comes eight days sooner, on the 17th when The Force is Awoken finally arrives in cinemas.
And if they weren't already looking forward to it with all their might (spoiler: they already definitely were), then any remaining doubts about its quality have been decisively blown away with this latest piece of news.
Jar Jar Binks is definitely not going to be in it.
Yes, the idiotic Gungan, widely and regularly voted the most annoying film character of all time, is not going to be making an episode-ruining appearance in The Force Awakens. The news was confirmed by producer Kathleen Kennedy at a news conference. To applause and cheers, she announced "Jar Jar is definitely not in the movie".
He originally featured in Episode I: The Phantom Menace (as well as briefer appearances in the other two prequels) and was, apparently, put in by director George Lucas, to provide comic relief, entertain the kids and - presumably - shift a load of merch. How did he get it so wrong? But get it wrong he did, and we still shudder at the memory of him (although if Michael Jackson had played him, it might have been very different).
Also not in the movie will be any Ewoks, who featured in Return of the Jedi. Kennedy said that they wouldn't be appearing "because Harrison (Ford) insisted on it".
So that's settled. The trailers have been brilliant, the mix of new and old characters looks brilliant, the posters are brilliant and there's no Jar Jar, which is self-evidently brilliant.
It's going to be brilliant isn't it?
(Image: Shutterstock)
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