Written by Christian James
When “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” was released in 2005, it seemed that the movie completed the “Star Wars” saga. Leaving the only advancement in the world originally created by George Lucas through other means, such as videogames, cartoons and books. That was until October 2012 when Disney struck a $4.05 billion deal with Lucasfilm for the rights of the series and then announced that they will be continuing “Star Wars” with another trilogy that could sprout into years of more “Star Wars” movies.
Suddenly, “Star Wars” was no longer a saga and transformed into a franchise, with at least another trilogy plus a spin-off movie planned to be released in the coming years. With Disney’s new trilogy taking place after the original “Star Wars” trilogy that was released between 1977 and 1983. Though it can be hard to understand exactly what the new trilogy will be about. After the ending to “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi,” where Darth Vader was defeated by Luke Skywalker, it’s hard to simply guess what director J.J. Abrams has in plan for the new trilogy. Leaving just about all of the speculation around “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” to be up in the air until it’s confirmed.
Not a lot of information has been shared about “The Force Awakens.” So far, fans have received two teaser trailers and a few behind the scene looks, but no information on the plot or a specific connection between the two movies have been made.
It has been confirmed that the movie will take place 30 years after the events of “Return of the Jedi,” which will help explain the age gap between the original trilogy’s characters. Allowing Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher to return to the franchise to reprise their roles.
While very little information has been released about the plot, it is known that the events within the next trilogy will spark after a young woman comes across Luke Skywalker’s old lightsaber that he lost during the Battle of Endor in “Return of the Jedi.” The young girl’s discovery will lead to a new war that will bring together the old generation and a new generation of heroes. Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega will be the three actors to join the team, leaving Daisy to be the most likely candidate to find Luke’s lightsaber.
During the Star Wars Celebration in July, it was announced that after the events in “The Return of the Jedi,” the Empire was completely reorganized and is now known as the First Order and the Rebel Alliance became known as the resistance. Fans can count on the good guys being made up of a small group of freedom fighters within the resistance, while the bad guys will consist of a heavily militarized forced. Whether or not that force will be the First Order or not has not been confirmed.
The two teaser trailers that have been released by Disney have also brought light to a few connections that will be made between “Return of the Jedi” and “The Force Awakens.” A large part of both trailers have been the Millennium Falcon’s involvement, whether or not the ship will play a large role in the movie is unknown, but fans can only hope that it’ll appear in the next three movies.
Another interesting glimpse that fans were given in the teaser trailers is the crushed helmet of Darth Vader. After Luke burned Vader at the end of “Return of the Jedi,” meaning that he is likely dead, it’s nice to know that his character won’t be completely removed from the storyline. Allowing him to remain in the character’s memories, and possibly play a role in inspiring the movie’s bad guy.
So far the revealed locations for “The Force Awakens” have been limited. A desert planet has been shown in both teaser trailers and many speculated that it was Tatooine. Until the Star Wars Celebration where Abrams confirmed that it was a junkyard planet called Jakku, and will most likely be the home of our three new heroes. Two other planets have been revealed in the teaser trailers, a snowy location that could be Hoth and a forest filled planet that could be Endor. Though nothing can be set in stone till it’s either confirmed or until the movie’s release.
“Star Wars” has been an enormous part of our entertainment history. Creating films that will be talked about for generations to come. For Disney to take up the position of continuing that story is good news, allowing fans to come back to the franchise with multiples movies that will be shared between the original trilogy’s characters and new characters.
“Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” will be released into theaters on Dec. 18, 2015.
- Director: J.J. Abrams
- Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams
- Actors: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker
- Genre: Science Fiction, Action and Adventure
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