It’s the DVD box set more anticipated than the rebels’ defeat of the Empire – and to celebrate its New York release tomorrow at midnight, Star Wars fanatics are dressing up and partying down.
Hundreds of stormtroopers, Darth Vaders and Princess Leias plan to throw parties wackier than any in Jabba the Hutt’s lair to welcome the return of the trilogy.
One Manhattan fanatic, Wilson Cleveland, 30, has spent $2,200 on a 65-inch wide-screen television for his tiny West Village studio apartment so he can relive his childhood watching the groundbreaking movies on the “big screen.”
“There was no way I was going to watch it on a normal TV. This was the impetus,” said Wilson, who bought the giant Toshiba TV online before such models even arrived in city shops.
“It’s nostalgic to watch this on a big screen as I have such fond memories of watching it like that when I was a kid.
“People make fun of me, but . . . I suppose if there was ever an extravagance I really wanted, this is it.”
Kevin “Ziggy” Zawabam, 30, of Jersey City, says he had no intention of going to work Tuesday after partying in a Darth Vader costume at Best Buy in Westbury, L.I., Monday night.
“Pretty much everyone I know is getting dressed up and going to a midnight party somewhere,” he said.
Richard Kopacz, 29, a criminal-defense attorney, spent $3,000 and hours of labor creating his stormtrooper costume.
“I think every one of us will run home as soon as we get our hands on the DVD and watch all three films immediately,” he said.
Virgin Megastores in Union Square and Times Square plus several Best Buys are expecting thousands to attend their midnight parties to buy the $41.99 collectors’ item, which features “Star Wars: A New Hope,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”
Orders for the DVD set have been placed online up to two months in advance. The set also includes a 21/2-hour documentary on the making of the series.
The DVD release comes before the May theater debut of the third and final episode of the epic, titled “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.”