LucasFilm
Exactly two months from today, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be in theaters.
Many of you (and us) will be waking up about now, thinking about what you’ll be doing to occupy your time in between the morning and the 7PM evening screening for which you’ve had your ticket for months. It might be your day job. It could be an afternoon spent putting the finishing touches on your First Order Stormtrooper costume. Whatever you’ll be doing, it’s likely that you’ll have Star Wars on your mind throughout the entire day. For the biggest fans of the franchise, there has not been a day like this since before the release of Episode I in 1999. With a new trilogy comes a completely new hope. And considering all the things we’ve seen from this new entry, from director J.J. Abrams, that hope appears to be real.
But that’s two months from now. At this point, all we have is cautious optimism. Everything we’ve seen so far from The Force Awakens looks great. Really great. So there’s no reason to panic and assume that it will be The Prequels all over again. George Lucas is chilling out in retirement, the brilliant Kathleen Kennedy has taken the helm and many talented, visionary filmmakers who grew up with Star Wars lunch boxes are now working on the franchise. This is going to be good. Right? Right.
Disney and LucasFilm are celebrating this two month countdown mark with a few big things. As we told you late last week, the final theatrical trailer for The Force Awakens will debut tonight during halftime of Monday Night Football on ESPN. Shortly after that, you will be able to pre-order tickets for opening weekend. Some theaters are even planning some very fancy events. If you live near an Alamo Drafthouse, you’re going to want to go here.
Over the weekend, LucasFilm also dropped the final theatrical poster for The Force Awakens. It’s gorgeous. Reminiscent of some of Drew Struzan’s wonderful posters for the original trilogy, it splits The Dark Side and The Light, featuring prominently a new triumvirate of young stars. Largest among them is Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, the dangerous and volatile leader of the First Order, the new Saga’s evolved version of The Empire. Then there’s Daisy Ridley as Rey and John Boyega as Finn. Below them is an explosion of detail, much of which we’ll discuss below. Because after all, we have a few very important (and mildly spoilery) questions about this final poster. Yeah, we noticed that giant weapon, too.
Warning: The following includes a lot of guesswork and puzzle-assembly. There’s a chance it could contain spoilers for The Force Awakens and by proxy, the entire new trilogy.
1. What’s with the new Death Star thing?
We know from interviews with J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan that there’s a new First Order weapon named Starkiller Base. It’s name is an homage to the name Luke Starkiller, which was from George Lucas’ early Star Wars scripts. This is likely our first look at said Base (or a weapon that is controlled by Starkiller Base), which will be commanded by Domhnall Gleeson’s General Hux. This is a star-system killing machine not unlike the Death Star. After all, everything we’ve heard about The First Order tells us that they are not just remnants of The Empire, they are also big fans. And just as imitation is the best form of flattery, there’s nothing like showing off your fanboy love for Darth Vader like building a bigger, scarier version of his most prized weapon. It looks completely badass.
2. Who’s the little alien next to R2-D2?
At this point it’s pretty easy to identify the big main characters on the poster. The three new kids. Chewie, Han and Leia. Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). The lovable droids C-3PO, R2-D2 and BB-8. But who’s that little alien to the left of R2? Many seem to believe that this is our first look at Maz Kanata, the CG character played by Lupita Nyong’o. There’s a loose possibility that it might be Constable Zuvio (albeit with a different costume), a character revealed by some of the toys from the movie, but Maz Kanata feels like a safer bet. All we really know about Maz beyond the fact that she is voiced by Nyong’o is that she’s essential in returning Luke’s Lightsaber to Leia (something we saw briefly in the last trailer). An appearance in the poster might signify some greater presence. We’ll see.
3. Is Daisy Ridley the star of this new Saga?
I’ve long been holding on to the theory that this new Saga, or new Trilogy, will really center upon the parallel stories of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey (Daisy Ridley). I’m remain curious as to their relationship and whether or not Abrams and Kasdan have dusted off a version of the Jaina and Jacen Solo storyline from the old Expanded Universe. I know that the EU is no longer canon, but that wouldn’t stop something in the same narrative vicinity from seeping into the new trilogy. The similarities to the Solo kids stories are pretty remarkable, even considering the fact that we still no relatively little about the story of The Force Awakens. I couldn’t help but also notice the fact that Ren’s lightsaber and Rey’s staff are perfectly parallel in the poster. It’s a neat design cue that splits the poster’s red and blue halves, but it also could be a little nod. It’s not crazy to think that something like that would be very on-purpose. I reserve the right to be completely wrong, but something’s got me feeling like Ren and Rey are going to be connected, important and long-lasting in this new Saga. (Also, the shots of Finn with a Lightsaber feel like classic J.J. Abrams Mystery Box misdirection. Just saying.)
4. Will Domhnall Gleeson make it through the first movie?
Almost as interesting as who made it onto the poster is who didn’t make it onto the poster. We’ll get to the big one in a moment, but first let’s talk about Domhnall Gleeson’s General Hux. I’ve been having private arguments with people for months, taking over/under bets on who will make it out of the first movie and who will die. I don’t have any special knowledge of the story, I just have a gambling problem and I love puzzles. General Hux is one particular character that interests me. Mostly because I think Gleeson is a terrific actor (see Ex Machina) and also because he’s potentially the Grand Moff Tarkin for a new generation. All we know about him is that he’s definitively evil (as Gleeson explained at Comic-Con in July) and he’s in charge of Starkiller Base. Will he and Starkiller Base make it out of the first movie alive and well? Both The Death Star and Peter Cushing’s mug were present on the theatrical poster for Episode IV and we all know how that worked out. I worry for you, Domhnall. I don’t want you to be a casualty of this new Saga. At least not within the first movie.
5. Where is Luke Skywalker?
The biggest, most obvious question. Harrison Ford is there as Han Solo. Carrie Fisher is there as Princess Leia, complete with a new hairstyle that is likely to be one of the Galaxy’s great mysteries. But where is Mark Hamill’s old man Skywalker? I was expecting his bearded mug and maybe even his robotic arm to be be present for this big coming out party. Alas, he’s missing and that makes his role in this movie even more interesting. In the earlier trailers, we saw his Lightsaber. We heard him talking about The Force. We’ve even seen Daisy Ridley and John Boyega filming scenes with Han and Chewie in the Millennium Falcon. A lot of this points to the narrative I like to call “The Search for Luke Skywalker.” Hear me out: Something crazy happens and The Force (wait for it) is awakened in one (or more) of our new characters. This first movie includes heroes new and old searching for Luke, the last legit Jedi in the galaxy. They know that he will be the key to defeating the First Order and its powerful zealot leader, Kylo Ren. This search may cost us a beloved character, but it will lead to some new Jedis and an Obi-wan style mentor role for Luke. It would also jive with some of the rumors we’re seeing about Rian Johnson’s Episode VIII, which has already kicked off production with a few familiar faces.
It’s possible that these questions will be answered by tonight’s new trailer. We’ll see. Either way, I love the game of analyzing the Mystery Box.
Hmm… Maybe I’ll dress up as The Mystery Box in two months for those opening night screenings.
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