Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion

[Passdagas the Brown]

Sorry, V. Fixed!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

That certainly beats "Darth Maul". (Although for the age group that TPM was directed at, Maul was probably perfect).

I continue to be cautiously excited.

PtB, I don't think you were around to comment about the second teaser trailer. Any thoughts about it that you care to share (I was very impressed with it).

[Primula Baggins]

I dove into the spoilers and decided about a fourth of the way through that they were so vague and confusing as to be just a frustration. (I already inadvertently read a very major spoiler, one I wish I hadn't, and so kind of feel there's nothing left to be lost. But I couldn't get through this.)

But "rip-roaring" with "mystery and depth," in your judgment, PtB? Now that gives me chills. Is it Christmas yet?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Yeah, I don't mind spoilers if they are presented in a comprehensible manner, but after spending about 30 seconds looking at the link I decided it wasn't worth my time. But if PtB wants to write up a description (and put it behind spoiler tags) I will gladly read it.

[Passdagas the Brown]

OK, so I was floored by the second teaser. The first shot alone was worthy of comparison to the best shots of the original trilogy, including the opening scene of A New Hope, where the rebel ship flies past and is then followed by an unbelievably massive, seemingly miles-long ship of the Empire (which we later learn is a Star Destroyer). That one shot delivered so much information, visually, that you barely needed dialogue to describe what was happening. A massive, evil entity is pursuing a smaller, good entity. That's the story right there. At the beginning of the new The Force Awakens trailer, you see a small speeder approaching the ruins of a massive Star Destroyer (with a downed X-Wing in the foreground as well, if you look closely). This tells us so much. This is an old world/ galaxy that has seen war on a massive scale. The husks of that war lay littered across the landscape. And someone, a small someone, approaches it. The rest of the trailer was also a visual feast. Such rich colors, and it all looked so believable and alive, and used. The new actors looked like they were acting their hearts out. They seemed to actually be in danger! And Luke's monologue from Return of the Jedi, overlaying the visuals, and that new version of the force theme. Chills. Then Han Solo and Chewie show up, and I'm done. McConaughey tears, all the way.

The spoilers you tried to read are presented that way because they are directly referencing the Making Star Wars site (and the original source material they drew from). The poster is deliberately not interpreting the information, so as to remain as objective as possible about the meaning of the leaked material. If you take the time, the story reveals itself quite well. However, it's a bit of a slog. I'll take a hack at a summary, and post it shortly!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thanks, PtB. I concur about the teaser, and look forward to your summary of the spoilers (don't forget the tags!).

[Passdagas the Brown]

Alright, here be massive spoilers. I have taken the Chronology from the Jedi Council Forums, and turned it into a more coherent synopsis. I have tried to note where I am speculating based on the information given, vs. where I am simply reporting information from leaked official materials (call sheets, shooting schedules, production schedules and shot logs, most likely). That said, this essentially covers all the leaked info about the film thus far. What's missing is dialogue, and information about re-shoots and pickups. So this is a general gist of the story, though it is quite extensive. There are still many important details missing. Final warning. If you don't want to be spoiled, this is the absolute worst thing you could possibly read. Even though it's awesome.

Hidden text.

Synopsis of The Force Awakens, based on a Chronology found at: http://boards.theforce.net/threads/curr ... .50028227/

A lightsaber tumbles out of space and onto a savannah/ desert planet (named Jakku). It is retrieved by a mysterious hand. The saber finds its way to a village elder (Max Von Sydow). The elder contacts the Resistance (the good guys). An X-wing pilot, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) arrives with his droid, BB-8, to collect the lightsaber from the elder. The exchange happens in his hut. Suddenly, the sound of ships are heard in the night. The First Order (the bad guys) are onto them! Poe Dameron places the lightsaber inside his droid, BB-8, and orders him to flee. Run away!

The perspective now shifts to a stormtrooper on a transport ship, headed for the savannah planet at night (Finn, played by John Boyega). He is shorter than the others. They land, the hatch opens, and they immediately start taking fire from the villagers. The stormtroopers proceed to burn the village to the ground. They also torch Poe Dameron’s X-Wing. They are seemingly ordered to round up the remaining villagers, and possibly massacre them. The short stormtrooper Finn lets some villagers go, out of what seems to be compassion. Finn’s friend is killed in the assault, and he leaves a bloody handprint on Finn’s helmet.
A huge shuttle lands, and out of it emerges a Sith Lord in dark robes, a dark helmet, wielding a red, cross-guarded lightsaber (Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver). Kylo Ren proceeds to make mincemeat of some attackers. He confronts the village elder about the lightsaber, and is unsatisfied with the conversation. He kills the elder.

Poe Dameron, the X-Wing pilot, is captured by Kylo Ren. He is taken aboard a transport, and flown back to a First Order Star Destroyer. Finn, the short stormtrooper, also flies back to the Star Destroyer. But he feels ill. He takes off his helmet, and vomits. He is told that a superior wishes to see him, and is displeased with his conduct in the village. This likely means death, or worse, for Finn.

The perspective now shifts to a young woman on the desert/ savannah planet of Jakku (Rey/ Kira, played by Daisy Ridley). She takes her speeder across the desert, and approaches a great ruin in the desert. A crashed Star Destroyer, from the battle of Jakku thirty years earlier. She enters the Destroyer, and proceeds to explore it, expertly hopping over huge chasms – some of which house the remains of old TIE fighters. She is a scavenger, on a planet that was once uninhabited, but now runs on scavenging the wreckage of war. She also seems to be something of a skilled gymnast! She scavenges a bit, and then returns home. In a rather evocative shot, she flies her speeder into the sunset.

We now cut back to the Star Destroyer. The villain Kylo Ren tortures Poe Dameron, the X-Wing pilot, and he is confident he will get the information he needs. He emerges from the interrogation knowing that the lightsaber is now carried by a droid, BB-8. Kylo Ren delivers this information to his superior, The General (played by Domhnall Gleeson).

Finn, likely fearing death (or worse), decides to flee. But he can’t fly. He needs a pilot. He sees Poe Dameron being escorted to the brig, and decides to act. He breaks Poe free. They steal a TIE fighter from the hangar bay. Stormtroopers try to stop them. The TIE lifts away, firing at troopers as it makes its way out and into space. TIE fighters follow them. They are shot down on the planet Jakku. But before they crash, Finn manages to eject himself from craft. He wakes up in the sand. He looks around in a panic, and sees the crashed TIE fighter not so far away. He tries to get into it, but can’t. Finn sheds his stormtrooper armor, and puts on a jacket, that seemingly belongs to Poe Dameron. It’s not clear what happened to Poe, however. Finn, disguised as a Resistance pilot, heads for the nearest settlement. Kylo Ren and the General watch Finn’s hologram aboard the Star Destroyer. They suggest to the other person present, the Chrome Stormtrooper named Captain Phasma (played by Gwendoline Christie) that she focus on hunting down the droid, and retrieving the lightsaber. Forget Finn, who is useless anyway.

The perspective shifts back to the female scavenger, Rey/Kira. She eats alone, in a rough home made from the remains of an old AT-AT walker. She hears a commotion outside, and finds the droid, BB-8, in some trouble. She helps the droid. After doing so, she decides to sell it at the salvage station. After some haggling, she is not able to part with it, and so she decides to keep it. Later in a cantina, she is confronted by ruffians or bullies. Finn enters the cantina. He appears to help Rey/Kira, though she does not trust him at first. They emerge from the cantina, with BB-8 in tow, seemingly pursued by the ruffians. TIE fighters scream overhead, and begin firing laser blasts at them. They frantically look for a ship, and ultimately choose one that’s sitting there with its door open. It’s the Millennium Falcon.

Finn and Rey/Kira board the Falcon, and somehow get it off the ground. They fly, with TIEs in pursuit. Rey/Kira shouts at Finn to fire at them. Rey flies the Falcon back towards the crashed Star Destroyer. In order to throw the TIEs off her back, she flies INTO the Destroyer from its rear rocket boosters. She and the TIEs slalom through the crashed Destroyer, and she loses them. The Millennium Falcon jets off into space, and loses its pursuers (likely by jumping to hyperspace).

We now cut to Kylo Ren, alone in a padded room on the Star Destroyer. He may have gotten the news of the failed retrieval of the lightsaber. In his padded room, he speaks to the burned and twisted helmet of Darth Vader.

We return to Finn and Rey on the Millennium Falcon, which is swallowed up by a Giant Freighter in space. The ship lands in a cavernous hangar bay. They open the door, and there at the bottom of the ramp is Han Solo and Chewbacca! Han orders the kids off his ship, though it seems they refuse. Han and Chewie enter the ship. They see something on a hologram. A gang is outside the ship! Han asks the kids to hide in the storage bay. The gang confronts Han and Chewie, and they seem to be in trouble. Finn seemingly tries to help by releasing the ship’s cargo (which appears to be alive). This provides a distraction. A fight ensues. Rey almost single-handedly takes on the gang. Han fires back, and Chewie is wounded. Finn helps Chewie, and wins some respect from Han. Finally, they get back into the Falcon under fire, and jet out of the Freighter.

Han asks Finn and Rey what they are up to. At some point, BB-8 reveals what he is carrying. Han Solo recognizes the blue lightsaber as belonging to Luke Skywalker (it’s the one he lost on Bespin)! He suggests they go to see Maz Kanata, a pirate, at a secret location on Yavin IV, a jungle planet that also houses the main Resistance base. She’ll know what to do. They fly there, and Rey is awed by the lush jungle, after so many years on a barren planet. They arrive at Maz Kanata’s castle. It is a pirate hideout/ hangout. A range of strange and unsavory characters, alien and human, lounge about inside. They ask for Maz Kanata, and are taken into a catacomb below the castle. There they meet the diminutive and wise pirate alien, Maz Kanata (played as a mo-cap character by Lupita N’yongo).

They show her the lightsaber. Maz Kanata offers to show them a vision. She seemingly has force powers of some kind, and may have once been a Jedi (or a Jedi apprentice). They all hold hands, and a vision washes over them.

VISION: There is what looks to be a Jedi Academy, and dead bodies are on the ground. Luke Skywalker shows up, too late. R2D2 is saddened by his master’s departure. Cut to the hand that takes the lightsaber at the start of the film. It is now revealed to be the hand of “Naka.” Naka accidentally starts a grass fire after igniting the saber. A local trader makes a sale to a wealthy man. Cut to a fierce battle! The lightsaber is being used by the CLAN against THE SEVEN. The last man is down and Kylo Ren approaches Rey. THE SEVEN are looting and we see Maz Kanata in the foreground taking an object. END OF VISION.

Maz Kanata says something pretty heavy to Han, Rey and Finn. It is possible, though unconfirmed, that Rey may learn that she is the lost daughter of Han Solo. She presents the blue lightsaber to them again. Rey is revolted by it while Finn is attracted to it. Maz Kanata now knows why the saber came to her. Rey doesn’t like this, and flees the castle. She runs into the woods.

We then cut to what seems to be a spy in the Castle. This is an emissary sent by Queen Leia, the Resistance leader. It appears she is on some secret mission.

We then cut to BB-8, who finds Rey. But suddenly, the First Order villains are overhead! The perspective shifts to the villain, Kylo Ren. But this time, he is in communication with a mysterious superior codenamed “Uber” (played as a mo-cap character by Andy Serkis). Uber orders that a superweapon, codenamed “The Catapult” be used against the Castle. Uber suggests to Kylo Ren that he “not get sentimental,” as Kylo hesitates to fire. This suggests that Kylo Ren may have some relationship with Han Solo, Rey, or both. Perhaps Kylo Ren is Han Solo’s lost son, and Rey is his sister...

Kylo Ren orders the castle destroyed, but the heroes, including Maz Kanata, get out in time. The Castle blows up, and Leia’s emissary is killed. Enemy fighters are flying overhead and landing. Captain Phasma, on Kylo Ren’s orders, seizes Rey and takes her captive. She is escorted away to the main First Order base on a snowy, forest-y planet.

Resistance fighters then arrive. One of them is Poe Dameron, the X-Wing pilot from the start of the film. He is now flying either a black, commandeered TIE, or a black X-wing. He and his squad make all the difference in driving the First Order villains away. A shuttle lands, and it is Queen Leia with C3PO in tow. She meets with Han, and the meeting is awkward. It seems they haven’t seen each other in a long while.

Han, Chewie, Finn, Poe and BB-8 go with Leia to the Resistance Base, which seems to be on the other side of the jungle planet of Yavin IV. There, Leia plies Finn for information about the First Order – likely probing for weaknesses, etc. She may learn something very valuable from Finn, which puts Resistance plans into motion to assault their base planet, and the superweapon they have housed there (“The Catapult”). Leia expresses pride in a new Resistance superweapon, codenamed “The Sledgehammer.” She seems to be quite militant. Leia also meets with Maz Kanata and receives Luke’s blue lightsaber. She suggests that for the time being, the lightsaber go to Finn, but that it should eventually go to Rey. Han meets with Leia, and they seem to have an intimate scene. Before leaving, presumably to go after Rey, Han tells Leia that he will “hurry back.”

We cut to Rey, who is being interrogated by Kylo Ren in a First Order Castle/Fortress on the snowy, forest-y planet. Kylo uses his force powers during the interrogation. Rey seems to reverse the probe, and learn something about Kylo. This seems to infuriate Kylo, and he leaves. But not before he realizes that he no longer needs the lightsaber to fulfill his purpose, which remains mysterious, but may have something to do with finding Luke Skywalker. Kylo Ren reports to Uber with his information. Rey then somehow uses her force powers, likely mind tricks, to distract the snowtroopers guarding her cell. She escapes through a ventilation shaft, and emerges out in the open.

Han, Chewie, Finn, Poe and BB-8 leave for the snowy, forest-y First Order planet on the Falcon, while Leia and Poe prepare to assault the planet from space. Han crashes the Falcon on the planet, for some reason (possibly because he sees Rey, who has just escaped). Finn picks up Rey with a speeder bike, and they flee the pursuing snowtroopers. Han and company shoot one down. Rey is touched that they came to rescue her. Rey may have retrieved vital information from Kylo, which she may share with Han and company at this point. The company then heads back to the First Order Castle, as Han has a plan. They will destroy the Catapult superweapon (or the shield that protects it), which is controlled from within the Castle.

We then cut to Kylo Ren, who walks into the cockpit of the crashed Falcon. He sits in the pilot’s seat and has a moment. Is this his father’s ship? Does he remember it?

We then cut to the great, climatic space battle. The Resistance assault on the First Order planet. X-wings and TIE Fighters face off in space and in the atmosphere of the snowy planet, where the First Order superweapon is located. Queen Leia uses a Resistance superweapon (the Sledgehammer) to crush through Star Destroyers. Down on the planet, “the General” of the First Order orders the firing of “The Array,” a defensive superweapon that will take out all fighters in space around the planet. The General’s subordinates refuse because the weapon will also destroy their TIE fighters. And so the General fires the superweapon himself. In that moment, projectiles are fired and all the ships in space are destroyed. The General is coldhearted. He destroys his own men in their TIE Fighters to take out the Resistance ships.

Queen Leia’s superweapon fails as a result. The Resistance’s “Sledge Hammer” falls into the atmosphere of the planet and it breaks apart. At this moment, Queen Leia feels all is lost and calls for a total retreat of the Resistance forces.

Thankfully Poe Dameron, BB-8 and his squadron survive the attack from the defensive Array weapon because it seems they were low enough in the planet’s atmosphere to evade it. Moments later, Poe from the sky discovers Han Solo on the planet’s surface. Han was thought missing.

Han, Finn, Rey and Chewie enter the First Order Castle. Han Solo encourages Finn to take the lightsaber and use it to destroy a generator of some kind (likely a shield) for the First Order superweapon (the Catapult). Finn runs off to do so. Han and the gang place charges around the Evil Castle. At some point, Kylo Ren arrives. The gang is on the ramparts of the Castle, and are in serious danger. Han Solo decides to reveal himself to Kylo Ren, as a means of protecting the others. Finn, Rey and Chewbacca stop in their tracks. They watch as Han Solo confronts Kylo Ren, who is most likely his son. When Kylo and Han meet, it cuts to Leia who feels “a disturbance in the Force” so to speak. Suddenly, Kylo Ren silences the conversation with Han Solo forever. He kills Han. Leia senses his death through the force. Chewbacca lets out a barrage of angry roars and laser blasts. At that point, things start to collapse and explode around them, presumably as the charges set earlier do their job. There is an explosion, and the rest of the gang is forced to flee, leaving Han’s body behind.

It seems that the explosions take out whatever shield may have been protecting the superweapon. This allows Poe Dameron, BB-8 and their X-Wing squadron to swoop in and destroy the superweapon. The General watches in horror as it all collapses. He checks in one last time with Uber.

Kylo Ren flees into the forest. It is night-time, and snowing. Finn and Rey follow him, while Chewbacca runs back to the Falcon. Finn confronts Kylo Ren, and seems to be bested. Rey arrives, and it seems that Finn tosses her the blue lightsaber, which she has been reluctant to accept up until this point. Rey and Finn confront Kylo Ren together, and it seems Kylo may get the best of them. But on a cliff edge, the ground falls away behind Rey. Rey and Finn find themselves hanging from a precipice. Kylo Ren exits the scene. Chewbacca arrives on the Millennium Falcon, and saves Rey and Finn from falling to their doom.
The First Order has been defeated, but Kylo Ren and Uber retreat to lick their wounds, and plot their next move.

Finn, Rey, Chewie, Poe and BB-8 all return back to the Resistance base on Yavin IV as heroes. Though Han’s loss makes it bittersweet. Leia tells Poe Dameron his squadron is all that survived the assault. We follow our main hero, Rey, as she says goodbye to the important players. Rey makes a special stop to say goodbye to Finn in the medical bay. Meanwhile BB-8, Artoo-Detoo, and See-Threepio decode a puzzle of some kind, seemingly revealing Luke Skywalker’s location – a watery planet of rocky islands (shot on the Irish island of Skellig Michael). Leia is elated. Leia and Rey have a special goodbye in which she bids Rey “a fond farewell.” Rey, Chewbacca, and BB-8 then get into the Falcon and take off. Chewbacca playfully messes up Rey’s hair in an endearing gesture. They fly away to find Luke.

Rey, Chewbacca and BB-8 land on the rocky, island planet. Rey walks up a set of old stone steps carved into the mountain. She comes up to a figure in a stone hut, and puts the lightsaber in his hand.

It’s Luke Skywalker.

Roll credits.

[River]

Sorry.

**fetches a mop

[Passdagas the Brown]

Sorry.

**fetches a mop

So, what do you think?

[River]

I think that it's all going to depend on the acting and the dialog, but it has the bones of a dazzling space opera. If nothing else, it is set up to bring the eye candy.

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It looks like Finn does sort of start out as a damsel-in-distress, though he sort of rescues himself and a damsel in even more distress. But it also sounds like he gets better.

I'm not sure about the light saber McGuffin thing. As presented, it seems a little lame but McGuffins often seem that way when removed from the context of their story. If the production team does it's job right, the magic light saber will not seem silly on screen. The bit about the villain and the hero both potentially being Han's children came off as suspicious also, but, again, context. Done right, all of this will be totally awesome. Done wrong and it's Episodes I-III all over again. I'm also sensing some tragedy went down between the end of Episode VI and the beginning of this one.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'll have to wait until tomorrow to read through that. No sense in skimming it now. I'll comment when I get the chance.

[Primula Baggins]

Read it. River, can I borrow your mop?

There are so many possibilities for not just stunning battles but genuinely involving, even moving character moments. And settings we haven't seen before (and one at least that we have!). I see great visuals ahead.

Of course it could all be preposterous. But I no longer think that's very likely.

I especially like that

Hidden text.

Han, Leia, and Chewie are actual participants in the story, rather than showing up stiffly at the end to hang medals on someone. And that Leia at least has changed. Been changed.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Hidden text.

But not Luke, disappointedly. Though it sounds like he might be being set up for somewhat of a bigger role in the next film.

If, of course, any of this can even be believed. Honestly, it doesn't make that much of an impression on me as a narrative. No drooling here, though I'm not put off, either.

[Primula Baggins]

I agree with your sentiment about that issue, Voronwë. However,

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Luke's reveal being the climactic moment of the film makes me hope that his role in the next one is not just substantial but pivotal. I wish he had more to do in this one (assuming the spoilers are correct), of course, but at least it's only 17 months between films instead of three years. (Assuming Episode 8 isn't bumped back from May to December because of issues. Apparently that's been known to happen with major, complicated blockbusters. . . .)

ETA: From reading PtB's narrative version (thanks so much, PtB!),

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there appears to be only one massive space battle, and it isn't even actually the climax of the film; several important events happen afterward. Skirmishes, dramatic escapes, and character confrontations appear to be carrying the plot for the most part. That's a structure a whole lot more like Episode IV than any of the prequel films. My main hope is that Abrams doesn't feel obliged to follow Lucas's (bad) example and have four important events happening at once that are so intercut that none of them has the chance to build any emotional power (think Qui-Gonn's death in Episode I). But I think that's exactly what Lucas wanted, and I doubt it's what Abrams wants, so I'm still hopeful.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Yes, a very big thank you to PtB for taking the time to put that together!

[Passdagas the Brown]

Thanks all!

And in case you were wondering, I love Luke's rumored role, not least because it avoids fan service and nostalgia-peddling for what seems like a solid, evocative and Star Warsy narrative rationale.

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It seems clear to me that Luke is the Yoda of this trilogy. Imagine that George Lucas had already thought of Yoda while making A New Hope, and instead of Luke visiting him in Empire Strikes Back, he he travels to Dagobah to see him after the Celebration scene at the end of A New Hope. He is the wise Zen master on a mountain, and the facilitator of the next stage in Rey's journey. Set reports also suggest that he is ubiquitous in conversations throughout the first film. He is a legendary figure, and he is missing. Where is Master Skywalker? is an ever present question in the film. So he's very present, even though he's not hopping around fighting bad guys with his light saber. If he was too involved, I would argue that this would take away from the agency of the new leads - namely Rey and Finn. I suspect, however, that we will see a lot more of Luke in the next two films.

In this context, Han plays the Obi-Wan role. He's the actively-involved mentor for the new leads, who dies so that the younguns can learn to stand on their own two feet. And, of course, Harrison Ford fulfills his delayed wish - which was for his character to have died in Return of the Jedi. And Leia sounds great. As a political leader, she sees to be a tough, pragmatic and sometimes ruthless leader. Like Golda Meir. I love that she's changed.

But back to Luke, I love this more detached role for him. It shows he has progressed beyond ROTJ, and is now the wizard archetype. Kudos to the filmmakers for showing restraint. The temptation to have Luke be a super-powered Jedi warrior in this, tearing up trees and whatnot, and smacking down legions of storm troopers, was probably strong. But instead, we get a young woman meeting an old man on a mountain in the middle of the sea, as the film's conclusion. Sounds beautiful, and mythic. Sounds like Star Wars.

And just as an FYI, this synopsis is based on highly credible information. Thus far, official info has not once contradicted the info Making Star Wars has revealed since they received call sheets, shooting schedules and logs, and possibly, a production schedule. They predicted all sorts of very specific things that were confirmed by the recent trailer, such as the desert planet not being Tatooine, the downed Star Destroyer and the Falcon chase through it, the bloody handprint of Finn's helmet, the handing of the lightsaber to Leia by a diminutive alien, Luke saying farewell to R2D2 in precisely such a setting, Han and Chewie having been separated from the Falcon, Rey and Finn being pursued by TIE fighters, etc. in this context, this synopsis is very likely to be broadly accurate.

But no one has seen a script, so there's a lot more to fill in. And no one knows what happened in reshoots, pickups and post-production. Mysteries include: what's so significant about the lightsaber? How did Kylo Ren go bad? What exact precipitated the Jedi Academy massacre? And why did Luke go into hiding for so long?

In any event, as you can probably tell, I am excited. After PJ's films, this trilogy is my only hope.

Also, just so y'all know, I also put together that longer, harder to penetrate, interpretation-free chronology on the Jedi Council Forums. Yes. I've been cheating on Tolkien with Star Wars.

[Primula Baggins]

Well, those of us who live in glass houses are uninclined to throw stones. I'm not on those forums, but I've had a thing for Star Wars since 1977.

The prequels were a rough patch in the relationship (as in, I moved out). But we're dating casually again, and I think it might end up going somewhere.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

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After thinking about it some more, I am now regretting reading the spoiler bits, simply because I would have rather not known about Han Solo dying. But I doubt I would have gone all the way until December without learning that fact, so its all good.

As for Luke, I would prefer that he be more of an Obi Wan type character than a Yoda character. My gut feeling is that even in subsequent films he will play a small, mostly behind the scenes role, for the same reason that Mark Hamill disappeared into obscurity and voice acting while Harrison Ford went on to mega-stardom.

[River]

A light-hearted thought came to me. Am I the only one here who saw the Chrome Stormtrooper and thought of Cylon Centurions? Seriously, if Chrome Stormtrooper says "By your command," I will either laugh inappropriately or throw my drink at the screen (and miss).

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I wonder if Kylo Ren didn't do something horrible to a nascent Jedi Academy after falling to the Dark Side (on the theory that he is Han and Leia's son...and inherited a certain Skywalker family weakness)? And Rey, his sister, survived and went into hiding? And Luke went away ala Yoda? It would be an irritating rehash of something that happened in the prequels if that's the case, though if they do it up nice I'll endure it without any attempts at painting the screen with soda.

Also, the more I think about it, the more Oscar Isaac as a bad@$$ Resistance pilot makes me scratch my head. He's a good actor, mind. Did a convincing job as a struggling folk singer in Inside LLewellyn Davis and as an uber-eccentric tech CEO in Ex Machina, but I'm just not seeing the bad@$$.

I'm also fearing that between this and GoT poor Gwendoline Christie is going to get typecast as a chick who wears armor. A full suit of functional armor. Not just a couple brass plates over her boobs and a skirty-thingy. Then again, the world probably needs to see women in armor that's, you know, armor.

[Passdagas the Brown]

Hidden text.

After thinking about it some more, I am now regretting reading the spoiler bits, simply because I would have rather not known about Han Solo dying. But I doubt I would have gone all the way until December without learning that fact, so its all good.

As for Luke, I would prefer that he be more of an Obi Wan type character than a Yoda character. My gut feeling is that even in subsequent films he will play a small, mostly behind the scenes role, for the same reason that Mark Hamill disappeared into obscurity and voice acting while Harrison Ford went on to mega-stardom.

Spoilery response!

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That's certainly possible. And frankly, I wouldn't mind. I love Luke - he's my favorite character in the original trilogy - but I also love the idea of him as a Yoda-esque Jedi Master. Imparting wisdom and leading from behind. Otherwise, he might just be a rehash of his ROTJ self. Also, I think with this being Han's last film, the filmmakers decided to give him the "active wizard" role, and let him go out with a bang. Having Luke also be active in this way would have crowded the film far too much, and potentially taken away too much screentime from the new leads.

One new character I'm very excited about is this new diminutive alien pirate/ former Jedi. We haven't gotten a good look at her yet (just her hand in the trailer), but we have seen some concept art (below) and an official photo of the denizens in her hideout (also below):

http://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2 ... 122015.jpg

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2015 ... ection.jpg

The wonderful thing about that second image is that all of the aliens are brand new, and yet it captures the essence of the original trilogy perfectly. Any one of them would blend right into the cantina!