‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ teaser: Many voices cry out in response

The release of the first 88 seconds of footage from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has roused public excitement in new and unusual ways -- spurring celebrity endorsements and even a few citizen-led remakes.

The trailer, which has been viewed more than 45 million times on YouTube alone since its release Friday, has further demonstrated the depth and diligence of “Star Wars” admirers.

The fan-created remakes sprang up almost immediately. A couple of videos re-created the teaser shot-for-shot with Legos, one skewered director J.J. Abrams’ affinity for lens flares, and another parodied George Lucas’ underwhelming prequel trilogy by overloading the trailer with extra CGI imagery.

Many celebrities also weighed in on the trailer. Kevin Smith, an outspoken “Star Wars” fan, said in an F-bomb-laced YouTube video: “It was a real time machine back to my youth, man.” He added: “For my money, I’m in. Are you kidding me? … I watched it already 25 times.”

Actress Anna Kendrick added: “STAR WARS!!!!! Language and emojis fail to express what’s in my heart at this moment.” And Mayim Bialik, a cast member on the nerd-centric TV hit “The Big Bang Theory,” tweeted: “Re the New Star Wars trailer. I literally can’t wait another year. Doesn’t anyone understand that?”

(For all the enthusiasm expressed over the last few days, there was one dispiriting development as some YouTube commenters criticized that actor John Boyega, who is black, looks to be playing a Stormtrooper. The complaints seem to amount to little more than veiled racism as these users criticized the choice. Boyega appeared to address the controversy with class on Instagram, where he posted a message that said: “To whom it may concern … Get used to it.”)

Fan reaction overall has been overwhelmingly positive, with many taking to social media to gush about what they saw. “My god, I have goosebumps all over my body now,” one Twitter user wrote. Another admitted: “I grinned like an idiot all the way through that Star Wars Trailer.”

Still, all the enthusiasm at such an early stage has the effect of creating high expectations -- in some instances, unreasonably so. A movie that no one has seen is often the worst or greatest thing ever, until it comes out, and it isn’t.

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