Fans out in Force for Star Wars world premiere

An army of Stormtroopers plus C-3PO and R2D2 were among the early arrivals at the world premiere of the highly-anticipated new Star Wars movie.

A long stretch of Hollywood Boulevard was closed to traffic for days ahead of the premiere of Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and fans have been camping outside the TCL Chinese Theatre for more than a week in anticipation of the release of the film.

C-3PO and R2D2 walked down the red carpet together as fans seated in bleachers roared in appreciation. C-3PO could be seen with a red arm, a source of much mystery as to what has happened to him.

Peter Mayhew, who plays Chewbacca in the series, stepped out of his car with the help of a lightsaber cane and posed for photographs with Anthony Daniels, who plays C-3PO in the films.

The droid BB-8 rolled down the red carpet under the huge white tent erected in front of the three cimemas on Hollywood Boulevard where the film will be shown.

The film has already made box office history in the England, where it has sold more than half a million tickets for its opening week at one cinema chain alone.

The seventh instalment in the series reunites the original cast of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, who are joined by newcomers Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson and Gwendoline Christie.

The plot of the movie is a closely-guarded secret and each trailer and snippet of footage has sent fans wild with excitement and speculation.

The Force Awakens will premiere in the UK on Wednesday ahead of general release on December 17.