Star Wars: The Force Awakens is nearly upon us. Here are the 10 things you need to know about the new movie, ahead of its release on 17th December.
1) It features the return of the old gang
Thirty-two years on from Return of the Jedi, the cast of the only Star Wars trilogy that matters are back – Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher and Princess (now “General”) Leia, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca. It’s going to be a dizzying nostalgia fest for those who grew up with the first trilogy as the originals return, older, wiser and wrinklier. Interesting pub bore fact – Mark Hamill is now older than Alec Guinness was when he first played Obi-Wan Kenobi.
2) But it’s also about the next generation
Scuttlebutt has it that the old cast are taking a bit of a backseat in The Force Awakens and that the focus of the movie is on the new characters, which include Daisy Ridley as solitary scavenger Rey, John Boyega as redeemed First Order stormtrooper Finn and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron – "the best friggin’ pilot in the galaxy".
3) It’s not George Lucas’ Star Wars anymore
Given the almost universal hatred out there for the deadeningly dreadful, pixel-saturated prequel trilogy, it wasn’t surprising that Disney didn’t want George Lucas anywhere near Star Wars when they bought Lucasfilm off him in 2012. After having his story for Episode VII rejected by the Mouse House, Lucas elected to leave them to it. "They decided they didn’t want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing, so I decided fine," the bearded one said recently. "They weren't that keen to have me involved anyway."
4) Expect more women
Go back to the original Star Wars and count the female characters. Okay, there’s Princess Leia, check, and Aunt Beru, check, and then… um… er… No, there is no-one else – there really are only two women in the whole of the movie. But that was 1977 and this is 2015, and not only does this story look as though it’s entirely centred around a female character – Daisy Ridley’s Rey – but Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has promised lots of “really strong women”. Girl power, as Ginger Spice would say.
5) Goodbye the Empire, hello the First Order
Cast your mind back to the end of Return of the Jedi and you’ll remember that the movie climaxed with the Galactic Empire defeated and Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader dead. Fast-forward 30 years and the First Order have formed to finish what the Empire started. "That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again?” says director JJ Abrams. “What could be born of that? Could The First Order exist as a group that actually admired the Empire? Could the work of the Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn't get done?"
6) It’s directed by geek god JJ Abrams
Inheriting the directing reins for The Force Awakens is the mighty JJ Abrams. As the man who helped devise Lost, directed the first two rebooted Star Trek films and is producer on the Mission: Impossible series, he’s someone who has an untouchably impressive track record at the box office. He’s also a massive fan of the franchise, saying in 2009: “As a kid, Star Wars was much more my thing than Star Trek was".
7) It features practical special effects
After the CG-saturation of the prequel movies, JJ Abrams reassured fans that computer-generated imagery will be used sparingly in the new film, to replicate the look and feel of the original trilogy. So while a few creatures will be motion-captured (such as Andy Serkis’ Supreme Leader Snoke and Lupita Nyong'o’s Maz Kanata), most will be actual physical suits. And that goes for many of the special effects too. Abrams has revealed they shot as much in-camera as they possibly could – that meant constructing sets, models and using matte paintings, just like they did in the old days.
8) The new villain is a big fan of Darth Vader
"Nothing will stand in our way. I will finish what you started,” the black-clad figure of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) says in the trailer over a shot of Darth Vader’s fire-charred helmet. It seems that Ren is a devoted acolyte of the long-deceased Sith Lord, and is determined to carry on his dark-hearted plan to wipe out the Jedi. Honestly, he’s a real bad egg.
9) Expect surprises
We know JJ Abrams likes to spring a juicy surprise, so expect the unexpected in the new Star Wars film. He successfully managed to keep under wraps Benedict Cumberbatch’s reveal as Khan in the last Star Trek film (as well as Leonard Nimoy’s cameo as Old Spock), and even though rumours are flying left, right and centre about Episode VII, just remember that we really don’t know anything.
10) Composer John Williams is back
A Star Wars movie without a John Williams score is like having fish for Christmas dinner. Just unspeakably wrong. Thankfully, the composer of such iconic movie themes as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, Harry Potter and Jaws is still with us at 83 years of age and is back on baton-waving duties for The Force Awakens. Rejoice!
Which side of the Force do you belong to – the dark side or the light? Click here to book your tickets for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and decide for yourself when the film opens on 17th December.
To celebrate the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we’re giving 5 lucky Cineworld customers the chance to win a Star Experience. As a winner, for your booked screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, your exclusive Star experience will include a chauffeur-driven car to your local Cineworld, a personal concierge guiding you to your seat and other great Star Wars prizes.
Click here to find out more about the Star Experience competition.
