Various fans and critics have been fighting over The Rise of Skywalker ever since it was released during preview night this past Thursday. But things got physical over the weekend during a screening in Canada. It wasn’t a debate over anything seen in this saga ending sequel. Instead, a man was punched in the face for checking his phone during the opening crawl. That flying fist wasn’t captured on video, but we do get to see some of the aftermath of the incident, as yelling ensues, and the movie has to be started over again from the very beginning.
Vancouver isn’t known for being a very violent town, but you better check your phone and make sure it’s shut off before engaging in one of the most anticipated cultural events of this decade. You’re likely to get five fingers straight to the face as one man discovered while checking his messages during the opening moments of Star Wars 9.
There are plenty of moments to fight over and debate about The Rise of Skywalker. From Rey’s true parents to Ben Solo’s last word being ‘Owe!’. Not to mention the first ever use of light speed skipping by Poe Dameron. But most Star Wars fans like to keep it peaceful. As you can see in the video above, when an iPhone is brought into the mix, things are going to get ugly.
What we’re seeing is the aftermath of this quick theater skirmish. An unidentified man is heard yelling, “I am a real Star Wars fan! … I waited a goddamned year for this and some a-hole turned his phone on next to me …Use your f-king heads … you’re f-king losers with your phones!” This whole dust up came during the opening crawl of the movie, leading into Kyo Ren’s battle on Mustafar.
After the fight broke out, the theater manager decided to turn on the house lights and stop the movie. A man named Joe Bond was the one responsible for turning on his phone while the once and future Ben Solo laid waste to the Alazmec guarding Darth Vader’s castle. Which certainly broke the quick momentum of the film’s narrative. Joe Bond was interview about the incident by CTV.
As Bond describes it, he and his wife left their children at home with a babysitter so they could enjoy The Rise of Skywalker for date night. Joe was continuously texting the baby sitter with check-ups all the way up until the house lights came down. Once the opening crawl started, Bond thought it would be a good idea to give his texts one last check. That’s when his seat neighbor became irate. Joe Bond claims he only had his phone out of his pocket for a few seconds before getting punched.
“He lost it at me. I told him to calm down and if he doesn’t calm down then I was going to get somebody – and then he hit me in the face … Star Wars fans are very serious but I think this guy was on the next level.”
Bond went onto note that the couple sitting in front of him and his wife were recording the opening crawl with their phones, which also set the already irritated puncher on fire. They fortuunately escaped the man’s wrath, and after he was seemingly escorted from the theater, the movie started up from the very beginning and the rest of the screening went off without incident. You can see all of Joe Bond’s interview at CTV News.
