On Monday night, I felt a great disturbance in the force, as if millions of football spectators suddenly cried out and were suddenly silenced by the hordes of Star Wars fans eager to savor every frame of the new trailer for The Force Awakens.
In an age where movie previews often give away too much (I’m looking at you, Terminator Genysis), Episode VII’s promo deftly delivers an exciting tease that raises more questions than it answers.
Who is Rey?
“Who are you?” “I’m no one.”
When a character says that, you can bet that they’re wrong. Featured prominently in the trailer and on the recently released poster, Rey appears to be a run-of-the-mill Jakku native who learns she is strong in the Force. Do I smell a Skywalker in our midst?
Who is Kylo Ren?
Fans are also speculating about the origins of Kylo Ren. How did he learn the ways of the Force? What’s he doing with the charred remains of Darth Vader’s helmet? What conditioner does he use on his glorious Jon Snow locks?
Whether Kylo Ren becomes a staple villain in the new trilogy or is doomed to come and go as swiftly as Darth Maul, he’s going to wreak some havoc before he’s finished. If you didn’t catch it the first time, take a look at the bodies strewn around Ren and his cronies as they stand in the rain.
Where is Luke Skywalker?
The most titillating aspect of the trailer might be what it DOESN’T include: Luke Skywalker.
Is that Luke’s metal hand we see on R2-D2’s dome? Aside from his possible narration of a previous trailer, Luke is largely MIA. Is there a reason Abrams has kept him under wraps?
How is Han Solo the true believer of the group?
“Those stories. About what happened.”
“It’s true. All of it. The Dark Side. The Jedi. They’re real.”
So . . . The entire Star Wars saga is nothing more than legend at this point? Few would have guessed that unbeliever Han Solo would be one to validate the Force. This is the same guy who said, “There’s no mystical energy field controls my destiny! It’s all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.” Were the events of episodes IV-VI enough to change his mind, or is there more?
A TRENCH?!
First, we see a planet-sized death machine on the official poster. Now the trailer has a battle scene with a trench?! What next? Ewoks? A Cantina band?
Let’s hope the homages pay subtle tribute without overpowering the film with unoriginal nostalgia.
Do you theories of your own? Take an in depth look at stills from the trailer and share your thoughts below.