The Women of Star Wars: The Force Awakens Shine at the Film's L.A. Premiere

The cast of Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrived at the movie's Los Angeles premiere Monday night to deliver a spectacle of intergalactic proportions. Beauties on hand included castmates Daisy Ridley (in Chloe), Gwendoline Christie (in Oscar de la Renta), and Lupita Nyong’o (in Alexandre Vauthier).

For fanboys and fangirls, everything about the premiere itself was fulfillment of a childhood fantasy—something even the cast of the seventh installment realizes they are lucky to be part of. “How can anyone ever, ever, ever believe that that sort of thing would happen,” Christie told InStyle. “But as cliché as it may sound, I think it does give a bit of wonderful hope that sometimes those dreams can actually come true.”

The red carpet, reportedly the longest in step-and-repeat history, stretched roughly half a mile along Hollywood Boulevard and welcomed A-listers and eager fans alike into three separate theaters (The El Capitan, where most Disney premieres are housed; The Dolby, which houses the Academy Awards; and the legendary Chinese Theatre, where the original Star Wars premiered in 1977).

So what was to be done with all the extra space? A legion of stormtroopers marched the length of the carpet and the first celebrity guests included R2D2 and 3CPO (above), along with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (below), who took to new levels of super fandom by arriving dressed as Yoda.

Of course, the leading men of the movie were on hand and the dapper gents included icon Harrison Ford, Adam Driver, in addition to co-star Carrie Fisher, who later showered her daughter Billie Lourd (who also stars in the latest installment) in hugs.

Not only was the elaborate red carpet set up a sight to behold, with displays of Star Wars characters and memorabilia, it was an opportunity for superfans to show their dedication to the franchise, which even newlyweds Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello took part in—Vergara even arrived rocking Princess Leia-like buns.