The highly anticipated seventh installment of the space opera saga “Star Wars” will be opening Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Grand Haven 9. The forthcoming sequel trilogy was announced after Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012 and excitement has been mounting ever since.

Throughout the months prior to release, pre-release content for “The Force Awakens” have pulled in huge numbers. The Monday Night Football TV spot premiere gave ESPN, a  Disney subsidiary, a 13 percent ratings bump. Trailers on YouTube have garnered more than 150 million total views. September 4th or “Force Friday” saw release events for a brand new line of Star Wars toys and branded merchandise that is estimated to rake in $1 billion domestically this year.

Director J.J. Abrams is at the the helm of this juggernaut of commercialism. Already ticket purchases have shattered pre-sale records, bringing in over $50 million. “The Force Awakens” has its sights set on Jurassic World, the film with the highest grossing opening weekend. However Star Wars has a bit of ground to close in regards to ticket sales as it isn’t being released in the blockbusting summer months.

The films cast consists of fan favorites such as Harrison Ford (Han Solo) and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and fresh faces like Daisy Ridley (Rey) and John Boyega (Finn). The plot has been carefully kept under wraps but is known to take place 30 years after Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

With the impending release fast approaching expectations for the film are mounting among shareholders and fans. Among the flurry of advertisements and hype it is difficult to escape from the Star Wars mania.

“I’m telling you, it’s just a movie.” Mark Hamill told LA times “These people that build it up in their minds like it’s going to be the second coming of, I don’t know what — they’re bound to be disappointed.”