Will the Force be with China?

The Star Wars franchise has been a victim of both timing and cultural expectations in China's movie market. Xu Fan examines expectations for the latest installment.

Star Wars will return to Chinese screens in the first weekend of 2017, but the big question for the world's second-largest market may still be: How much further can the new space opera go on its expedition to collect Chinese hearts?

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a spinoff prequel and the eighth movie of the world's most popular sci-fi franchise, will open on the Chinese mainland on Jan 6.