Earlier today, a new teaser trailer for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was unveiled at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, Calif. Director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy don't need to have mastered The Force to know that fans are eager for any and all information regarding this newest installment. As a result, the duo sufficiently whet the appetites of several generations with this newest trailer.
But what did this new footage actually reveal? Let's go in for a deeper look.
The trailer opens with Daisy Ridley's Rey flying across the desert on her speeder towards a downed X-Wing fighter. In the backdrop is what appears to be a mountain range on the Tatooine-like planet Jakku but what turns out to actually be a wrecked Star Destroyer. Clearly, the Empire has fallen on tough times.
Then, a voice over. It's Luke from "Return of the Jedi" telling Leia that Darth Vader is his father and that he must confront him. "The force is strong in my family," says Mark Hamill from all those years ago. "My father has it. I have it. My sister has it."
But that's not all. A new piece of dialogue is added here.
"And you have the power, too."
Possibly the most powerful visual from this new trailer is the decrepit, charred helmet of Darth Vader. Chronologically, the last we saw of this man who embodied both good and evil was at his funeral pyre at the end of "Return." Will the familial themes and ethical conflicts he represented be present in "Awakens?"
Similar to the previous teaser trailer, Abrams seems intent on focusing on the new characters being introduced into the galaxy far, far away. Ridley's Rey can be seen offering her hand to a fallen Finn, played by John Boyega. Finn, a stormtrooper who may be breaking good, seems deeply disturbed in several shots as he is likely on the run from the Empire's forces. He and Rey appear to be the foundation for the new generation of good guys.
But what are good guys without the villains they face off against? Kylo Ren, presumed to be played by Adam Driver, wields his cross-guard lightsaber and uses the force menacingly. His face is hidden behind a metallic mask. It's likely that he and the chrome stormtrooper we get a brief glimpse of are the main antagonists in the film.
BB-8, the soccer ball droid, peeks its head around a corner before the trailer cuts to TIE-fighters in action, including a sequence in which one appears to fire on a docking bay with other ships.
Poe Dameron, played by Oscar Isaac, is then in the cockpit of an X-Wing and living up to his reputation as one of the best pilots in the galaxy. Is it him who leads a series of aerial shots in the dormant engine of the crashed Star Destroyer?
We may not be given any direct shots of Luke and Leia, but that doesn't mean the old guard is completely absent. Harrison Ford, the scruffy looking nerf-herder that he is, cracks a sharp grin and says, "Chewie...We're home." Not for nothing, but Chewbacca has aged really well.
We don't know what the pair is looking at or referring to, but we know it excites us. Nostalgia glands all across the world are going into hyperdrive right now.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will hit theaters on December 25.
