'Wrong queue' for Star Wars fans

Fans plan to camp out until 19 May

Star Wars fans have started queuing seven weeks early for the opening of the final movie - but appear to have camped outside the wrong cinema.

Dedicated fans are lining up outside the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood but have been told it will open on 19 May at a cinema a mile away.

Producers opted to open the film at the ArcLight cinema, making it unlikely other cinemas in the area will show it.

But the fans are refusing to move, believing the news to be false.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith will open at the ArcLight complex, which is adjacent to another Hollywood landmark, the Cinerama Dome.

"We've heard all this before," said Sarah Sprague, one of the small group already queuing.

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She said similar stories were circulated ahead of Star Wars releases in 1999 and 2002 - but the films had eventually opened at Grauman's.

"This is still the epicentre for Star Wars fans," Ms Sprague added.

"For the big iconic pictures of the 1970s, people lining up were here. They weren't at the Cinerama Dome."

Revenge of the Sith will be the last of three prequels to the original 1977 science fiction classic.

'More emotional'

Executives from 20th Century Fox and ArcLight told Variety magazine Revenge of the Sith would be showing at the Arclight although a deal had yet to be completed.

In 2002, two die-hard fans started camping outside their local Seattle cinema four months before the release of Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

Despite mixed reviews for the past two Star Wars releases, anticipation for the final instalment is expected to be high.

Director George Lucas has said Revenge of the Sith is darker and more emotional than previous Star Wars films.