The wait for Episode VIII is almost over and with Star Wars as big in Japan as anywhere, fans amassed in Tokyo for the first red carpet event of The Last Jedi.
For many Star Wars fans, Luke Skywalker is their guiding light - and that love isn't a one way street.
"The fans are just incredible," actor Mark Hamill said.
"They're so passionate, and the stories they tell - how it got them through illnesses, or they met their future wives. It's so ingrained in the fabric of their lives.
"Now the young kids have grown up and had children of their own and they're passing it down."
Although Hamill featured in 2015's The Force Awakens, it was a brief, dialogue-free scene at the end of the film.
The Last Jedi is his first major role in a Star Wars film since 1983's Return of the Jedi and he's extremely grateful the fans are still supportive.
"It's overwhelming; I can't express in words how meaningful it is to all of us. You can't take it for granted, it's just a dream come true," he said.
"If it weren't for the fans, I wouldn't be talking to you right now - I'd be home in my underwear watching TV."
The Last Jedi welcomes super fan Rian Johnson into the Force as director and needless to say, this whole thing has been a boyhood dream come true for him too.
"This is a movie made by fans and now being able to give it back to them, that's what it's all about," Johnson said.
The wait is excruciating, but soon that wait is over as The Last Jedi opens globally in just one week's time.
Newshub.
