Star Wars: The Force Awakens gives us some insight into the characters in the first full trailer. Our heroes, Finn (John Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley), are on a quest to find themselves. Finn has lived his entire life in service as a Stormtrooper. He finds himself without any purpose following the Empire’s fall. Finn crash lands on Jakku, a frontier desert world that’s home to Rey, who survives by scavenging the wreckage of Imperial Star Destroyers. As a space ship takes off, she gives a longing look reminiscent of Luke Skywalker eager to escape his dull life.
In contrast, the villain has set a very clear path for himself. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) belongs to the Knights of Ren and the First Order, which director J.J. Abrams compares to neo-nazis trying to revive their evil empire.
“I will finish what you started,” Ren promises to Darth Vader’s helmet on which he has modeled his own look.
“The movie explains the origins of the mask and where it’s from, but the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask,” Abrams told Entertainment Weekly. “[Ren] is well aware of what’s come before, and that’s very much a part of the story of the film.”
There are also appearances by the old guard: Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Leia (Carrie Fisher), R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) with a hooded Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) many have assumed. However, the robotic hand has claws that give off an evil vibe. The hood is also darker than the one leaked previously though Luke was notably absent on the Star Wars poster. The scene appears to coincide with an attack by the First Order led by Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie). It seems more likely that it’s an enemy, possibly Ren. Perhaps he modeled more than his outer appearance on Vader.
The only thing bigger than the stars are the locales, which go from deserts to forests to snowy mountains and of course space. All of which seem to be under constant attack. It’s an epic scale.
Even the actors couldn’t contain themselves while watching the trailer for the first time. Boyega and Ridley uploaded their reactions to Instagram and Facebook, respectively. He literally fell over and she breaks down and cries.
It’s hard not to get misty-eyed when hearing, “The force…it’s calling to you.”
Star Wars: The Force Awakens premieres December 18, 2015
