Stars shine for 'Clones' London gala

Samuel L. Jackson and George Lucas thrilled fans at London's premier of the latest "Star Wars" installment

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A galaxy of stars turned out for the London premiere of the latest addition to the "Star Wars" stable, "Attack of the Clones."

While the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra struck up in the background -- and a bodyguard of stormtroopers took up their positions -- thousands of fans gathered to welcome the sci-fi heroes of the silver screen.

Among them Tuesday night was "Star Wars" creator and director George Lucas, who got a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" from the 3,000-strong crowd as he turned 58.

"All the Star Wars fans, you know, approach it differently," Lucas said. "I know the younger Star Wars fans that are coming to this for the first or second time are going to love it."

CNN NewsPass VIDEO Fans of all ages turned out in force for the London premiere of the fifth installment of the 'Star Wars' saga. CNN's Diane Muriel reports (May 15) Play video CNN's Bruce Burkhardt visits Skywalker Ranch, the home of director George Lucas and birthplace of the 'Star Wars' saga (May 7) Play video   MORE STORIES 'Clones' clones appearing on Web    RESOURCES • EW.com: All about 'Attack of the Clones'  • TEEN PEOPLE.COM: The hottest stars under 25

Lucas certainly hopes so, after the criticism that met his previous "Star Wars" offering, "The Phantom Menace."

But the cast believe the magic is back.

"It's closer in spirit to the original," said Samuel L. Jackson, who stars as Jedi Master Mace Windu.

"It's high adventure, there's a lot of intrigue, there's a bit of romance here, and the battle scenes are epic -- better than all the other battle scenes combined."

"Clones," which opens worldwide on Thursday, was filmed on location in Australia, Italy, Tunisia and at the Elstree Studios in London.

The Australian scenes were sent by satellite to the Skywalker Ranch in California, headquarters of Lucasfilm, which meant any changes could be re-shot quickly on set.

The film was only finished three weeks ago, which explains why some of the cast had yet to see it.

"To be part of it, to be part of cinema history, is very important to me, and I'm looking forward to seeing it because I haven't seen any of it," Christopher Lee said before entering the Leicester Square theatre. The veteran British actor plays rogue Jedi Count Dooku in the film.

Also at Tuesday night's screening was Canadian actor Hayden Christensen, who plays Anakin Skywalker -- the future Darth Vader. Oscar winner Halle Berry turned up to support Jackson, her friend.

London fans seemed delighted with the movie: One gave it a 9 on a scale of 10; another called it "brilliant, amazing -- so much better than the first."

The previous "Star Wars" films account for four of the 13 top-grossing movies of all time in the United States.

But "Attack of the Clones" is up against "Spiderman," which broke U.S. box office records on its opening weekend. Lucas and crew are hoping that, once again, the Force will be with them.