Watch the full trailer: Video: 10Mb QuickTime movie (Courtesy LucasFilms, Ltd./Fox)

Web posted on:
Friday, November 20, 1998 9:38:42 AM EST

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- "Star Wars" junkies eager to catch a glimpse of the first prequel, your wait is over: 75 theaters in North America got to show a sneak preview of the trailer for "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" among the trailers shown before other full-length feature movies.

The preview will appear nationwide on Friday. But loyal fans who paid close attention to the official Star Wars Web site learned there would be a sneak preview Tuesday in some theaters across the country.

Some people are apparently paying the full price of a movie ticket just to see the two-minute preview. Variety reported that nearly two-thirds of the 500 people in an afternoon showing of "The Siege" in Los Angeles walked out after seeing the trailer. Movie theaters across the country reported other fans doing the same thing.

Asked to comment, one fan who saw the trailer in Washington said "Unbelievable. I consider myself a harsh critic, but after the trailer I was applauding."

"Phantom Menace," which opens May 21, will be George Lucas' fourth "Star Wars" movie but chronologically it comes first; the three "Star Wars" movies already in release comprise the middle segment of an intended nine-part trilogy.

Among the stars of the movie are Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Liam Neeson as a Jedi knight, and Natalie Portman as a young queen. The young Jake Lloyd, who made his big-screen debut in 1996's "Jingle All the Way," plays Anakin Skywalker, who in the series is Luke Skywalker's father.

Reuters contributed to this report.