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What Will We See in the New “Star Wars”?

When Star Wars was released in 1977, it marked the dawn of a new era in science fiction and pop culture. An instant hit with fans the world over, it spawned a multimedia empire spanning successful films, comic books, video games, novellas and short stories, even toys and theme parks. It comes then as no great surprise that the latest installment in the franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has fans ready to pack their bags and return to that famous galaxy far, far away.

That´s what I would call a really awesome movie poster.

The advertising for this film has been relentless and selectively revealing, letting us know just enough about the movie without spoiling any key plot elements. Here’s what we know so far. While there are still some gaping holes is the story line, we have been able to put together a loose outline of the final storyline – notably the entrance of two new main characters.

star wars the force awakens daisy ridley bb 8

Rey (played by Daisy Ridley) and her android friend and helper BB8.

Rey (Daisy Ridley) is a scavenger on the desert planet of Jakku. She, like many in her generation, has heard stories of Luke Skywalker, General Leia, Han Solo and the fight against the great Galactic Empire, but they have already faded largely into myth. She eventually meets up with Finn (John Boyega), a stormtrooper of the First Order that was raised to worship the old Empire and think that the heroes of the original trilogy were villains who destroyed a great man and his work.

star wars force awakens rey finn bb8 running

BB8, Finn and Rey sure knows how to end up in deep trouble.

Finn crashes on Jakku and meets Rey and BB-8 (an astromech droid), where he starts to learn that what he had always believed about the world was wrong. There is at least one point at which they meet up with Han Solo, now 30 years older and still with Leia, it seems, who confirms that everything they’ve heard is true.

Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver) got famous over a night because of his triple (cross) lightsaber.

A fearsome new villain, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), hell-bent on completing Darth Vader’s work at any cost has also come into the picture. He has a lightsaber with cross guards, presumably because he doesn’t want to lose a hand like almost every other lightsaber user in the series, and at one point confronts Finn in a snowy forest – who has the lightsaber that has been confirmed to be the one that belonged to Anakin and Luke in the previous films.

While he has received comparatively little screen time, we also know that Oscar Isaac plays an X-wing pilot with the Resistance named Poe Dameron. His call sign is “Black Leader” and he is the head of Black Squadron fighting against the First Order. We’ve also seen in previews that BB-8 is his astromech droid, attached to his X-wing during combat to act as repair and co-pilot. So far, we don’t know how BB-8 either gets to or from Dameron to Rey and Finn, but the lovable little droid spends time with both groups.

star wars force awakens poe dameron oscar isaac

Oscar Isaac plays an X-wing pilot with the Resistance named Poe Dameron.

Beyond the plot and the return of some beloved characters, there are a lot of other things that fans of the franchise will appreciate in this film. Director JJ Abrams has opted for more practical effects, trying to actually put a lot of the action in real life rather than relying on CGI like Lucas did in the prequel trilogy.

Further, we should be getting a more fleshed-out idea of much of the mythology that underpins the franchise but hasn’t truly been explored. The Dark Side of the Force has been a mystery, for the most part, only getting a really good exploration in the now-defunct Expanded Universe. It seems we’ll get a little more about it, the Sith, and their relation to the Jedi in this film. Moreover, we’ll see more of what can be done with the Force, and should see a host of new fights employing modern technology and storytelling techniques.

mark hamill luke skywalker star wars the force awakens

It´s not quite clear what part Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) will play in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. However, we will know for sure once the movie has its world premiere.

About the only thing, we know absolutely nothing about is Luke Skywalker himself, who has been noticeably absent from all the promotional material. Abrams says this is on purpose, and the fate of the character who we watched grow through the original trilogy remains the subject of much speculation. In any case, there is a lot we know, but still the overall thrust of the film is a mystery. What will turn Finn away from the First Order? How will he and Rey meet up with Solo and Leia? What is Kylo Ren’s plan and does the Skywalker lightsaber play into it?

star wars the force awakens chewbacca han solo

Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and Han-Solo (Harrison Ford) are back in biz again in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

Despite all the unanswered questions, fans are still eating up all the attention that Star Wars is getting – comic book miniseries spin-offs have taken off, TV series like Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: Droid Tales are available to watch through Disney XD and DTV, and the new BB-8 droid is the hottest gift of the year. When the whole world is counting the days before the movie’s premiere, the real winners are the fans, who unfortunately have to sit and wait until December 18th to find out the gang’s fate for sure.

With that said, what do you think that we will see in X Star Wars: Episode VII? And do you think that the movie will live up to the hype and your expectations? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below!