To celebrate the Middle East premiere of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, December 16, twofour54 and Aldar Properties PJSC have partnered to create a giant Star Wars-themed installation covering the coin-shaped Aldar HQ building.
The 100 metre-high installation, which is currently being placed on the structure’s facade, will feature the Starkiller Base from the latest instalment of the blockbuster franchise. Twofour54, the production arm for the film’s Abu Dhabi shoot, has shared an image depicting what the iconic building will look like once it is complete.
Work began on Monday, December 14, to decorate the front of the giant, round structure beside Al Raha Beach, already one of Abu Dhabi’s most recognisable landmarks.
It's a grand salute for a film with deep ties to the emirate: a portion of the filming was done in Abu Dhabi's Liwa Desert in April 2014 – a shoot that was first discovered and captured by The National's photographers before the pictures went viral and were picked up by news outlets from around the world.
Trailers showed both a crashed Imperial Star Destroyer and a crashed TIE fighter in the desert – which we later discovered was representing the planet Jakku.
With assistance from twofour54 and the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, filming for Star Wars: The Force Awakens took place in the capital during May 2014 with over 650 crew. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens Abu Dhabi plays Jakku, a frontier desert planet in a remote section of the Outer Rim Territories.
The movie will premiere regionally during an invite-only, red-carpet event hosted by twofour54 at the capital’s Emirates Palace on Wednesday, December 16, followed by the general release in theatres, with screenings beginning in the UAE just hours later, just after midnight. The US premiere was on Monday, December 14, in Los Angeles.
amcqueen@thenational.ae
As this is a developing story, this blog has been updated with new information since it was originally published.
