It's amazing how everything that I want out of a trailer - or at least a trailer for the latest movie in an established franchise - can usually be taken care of in about 90 seconds. The Force Awakens is no exception. We got iconic callbacks to the original trilogy, a measured look some fan favorite characters and a few quick action clips to round things out. We were already sold on the idea of another Star Wars, all this did was remind us of why.
After seeing the trailer, I'm convinced more than ever that The Force Awakens is going to be a loose adaptation of Heir to the Empire. Sure, Carrie Fischer's a bit too old to be pregnant, so that particular subplot's out of the running. And sure, it's been a bit too long since Return of the Jedi for Luke to be struggling with the nuts and bolts of reestablishing the Jedi Order, let alone Obiwan becoming "one with the Force" (his ghost passing on to whatever afterlife awaits him).
Strip away the subplots and time frame, and you're left with a perfectly viable story for a latter-day Star Wars. After being forced into hiding at the far end of the Galaxy, the Imperial Remnant, led by master strategist Grand Admiral Thawn, resurfaces to bring the rest of the Galaxy into the Imperial fold. His secret weapon is the deranged clone of a long-dead Jedi Master, whose powers perfectly compliment his own martial prowess.
The big question that the trailer leaves us with is who Luke is talking to in his dramatic voice over. It's clearly somebody gifted in the Force, which leaves us with several possibilities to choose from. Given all of the film's apparent ties to Heir to the Empire, it very well could be Mara Jade - "the Emperor's Hand" - who was driven from a position of power and influence within the Empire to the dregs of the Galaxy after the Emperor's death. This may be a glimpse into one of his many confrontations with Jade over the course of the trilogy, in which he urges her to abandon her hatred and lust for vengeance.
Given all the time that's elapsed since Return of the Jedi, however, he could be talking to one of the Solo twins. It can't be glossed over just how family-oriented Luke's words were: "the Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it. You have that power too." And given how prominently the children factor into the later Star Wars novels, having the older generation pass the torch to the younger one is ripe with cinematic and franchise possibilities.
Jaina Solo - known as "the sword of the Jedi" for her prowess in battle - features prominently in many of the Expanded Universe novels. The girl that keeps cropping up in these teaser trailers (see above image) fits the bill pretty well. She's the right age, wearing the appropriate Jedi-styled tunic and seems to be holding her own in all the action.
Jacen Solo is a grimmer matter entirely, as he eventually becomes Darth Caedus. Considering how a large part of the Thawn narrative was Master C'baoth trying to lure Luke and the newborn Solo twins to the dark side, it would be a perfectly natural progression to pass off that portion of the narrative to Jacen: streamlining his fall to the dark side by joining it with C'baoth's scheming. The film, then, could feature the lure of C'baoth's teachings compared to the harder moral path of a Jedi.
The final option is, of course, Ben Skywalker: Luke and Mara's Jedi son. While he also features prominently in the Legacy era novels, and would fit into the implicit blood ties of Luke's speech, he's a far less likely candidate. For him to work, either Mara is already a part of the Star Wars narrative at this time of the movie or Ben is simply too young to factor into the movie all that much.
It's amazing how, even after only 90-odd seconds of footage, it's immediately obvious that this is a J.J. Abrams movie. While we weren't subjected to the excessive lens flair he seems so fond of, the opening sequence is an extreme wide angle tracking shot of a vehicle speeding across the desert. It starts to pass a downed X-Wing in the foreground before we see an even more impressive Imperial Star Destroyer looming behind it in the background.
This immediately calls to mind the Kirk's arrival to the spaceport to begin his Starfleet training. He races across a dirt road on his bike - fields in the foreground, Starfleet buildings in the background - before coming up to the docks looming in front of him. Just compare the above image with the following:
Needless to say, I'm stoked for this movie. It has a proven sci-fi director who has not only brought the original trilogy's cast back into the fold for another round, but has made a point to do as much in-camera as possible: physical sets, makeup and puppetry to bring the aliens to life, even the new R2 droid from the first trailer is a physical prop. They have so far done everything right, and I can promise you that I'll be the first one in line to see this.
So what did you think of the new Force Awakens teaser trailer? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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