Written by Kevin Behan, contributor
“Star Wars,” the epic sci-fi saga that began in 1977, is at the peak of its popularity with several video games, around a hundred books, spin-offs, parodies, television shows, and more having been created for it. If you haven’t experienced this franchise yet, I’d suggest getting involved with it soon. Because this year, an entire decade after the release of the previous “Star Wars” film, they’re making a new one: “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens”.
With the recent release of the second trailer for Episode VII, and the slowly approaching release date of December 18, 2015, it’s a good time to recap what we’ve learned so far. The movie’s had a weird and bumpy road so far, with few hints as to what the movie is even about. Here’s what we know.
Pre-Production
— George Lucas had repeatedly stated he would not make another “Star Wars” movie, and was fairly adamant on this.
— Prior to selling Lucasfilm to Disney, Lucas decided to write a screenplay for Episode VII. It’s speculated that this was done just to crank up the value of the company before selling it, but Lucas is quoted in an article by bloomberg.com as saying “I’ve never been that much of a money guy.”
— Disney proceeded to throw out Lucas’ script and create their own, hiring J.J. Abrams, director of the recent “Star Trek” remakes, to direct the new “Star Wars” movie.
— Prior to the film truly being announced, Lucas jumped the gun on announcing actors from the original film would be making an appearance in the film, specifically the actors of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford). “Maybe I’m not supposed to say that. I think they want to announce that with some big whoop-de-do, but we were negotiating with them … I won’t say whether the negotiations were successful or not,” said Lucas.
— Lucas has an advisory position, which essentially amounts to telling people what won’t work in the Star Wars universe whenever ideas are brought up.
Characters and Actors
— As mentioned previously, Hamill, Fisher and Ford are returning as their characters from Episodes IV, V and VI. The characters will have aged as the actors have, to avoid the obvious disconnect of the aging actors playing the young spry characters from before.
— Apparently they are only intended to play supporting roles in Episode VII. Their presence is meant to hand the torch down to the newer actors.
— While there are a ton of new characters being played by actors new to the franchise, only a few appeared in the recent trailer. Kylo Ren, the Sith wielding the unusual red lightsaber, is played by Adam Driver. Finn, the man seen several times in stormtrooper gear without his helmet who has a knack for breathing heavily, is played by John Boyega. And finally Rey, a scrap collector who is assisted by her droid BB-8. Rey is being played by Daisy Ridley.
— During production, Harrison Ford received an injury when the Millennium Falcon’s sliding door closed on him, breaking his leg. Fans worried over whether or not he would still play a role in the film. His recent appearance in the newest trailer has alleviated those fears.
The Story
— We know that despite the destruction of the second Death Star and the deaths of the Emperor and Darth Vader, the Empire is still kicking 30 years later. There’s a civil war raging across the galaxy, as both sides seem to be evenly matched.
— It’s no longer the Empire and the Rebellion. Now they are respectively known as the First Order and the Resistance.
— All fiction outside of the films such as books, comics, and videogames, are being ignored for the sake of Episode VII. This is reasonable since there is so much “Star Wars”-related media that even Lucas doesn’t know about. The story of anything that contradicts Episode VII is being put in the bin.
— In the second trailer, you can see a lightsaber resembling the one Luke Skywalker owned being handed to someone. Hamill himself mused that he might be playing a role similar to what Obi-Wan was in Episode IV, though that was only said during negotiations. Will he be playing the master of a new Jedi character?
— It is very likely that the new Sith character, Kylo Ren, is not the leader of the First Order, so much as he is an agent of it. He’ll probably spend the film hounding the protagonists, similar to the role of Darth Vader.
— Sadly we still don’t know much about the plot. Lucasfilms and Disney have been tight-lipped about it.
If you haven’t experienced “Star Wars” yet you should try to at least watch Episodes IV, V, and VI, in that order. Episode VII will definitely be making references to them. After you’re done with those, then look to I, II and III. They’ll probably be less important to understanding the upcoming movie, but will help fill in the backstory of the universe.
With the film’s release looming closer and closer, I advise fans to be wary of what they look up online concerning the new episode. Rumored spoilers have leaked online, and less scrupulous individuals might be inclined to try and ruin the experience for others. Just try to avoid comments sections and big message boards relating to “Star Wars” and you should be fine.
