The first day of the 2015 Star Wars Celebration brought with it a new teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens – and take note Kim Kardashian – this is how you break the internet. No doubt by now you have seen the amazing trailer and if not, what are you waiting for? As overused as the phrase is these days the only appropriate word to describe the trailer as epic. And if you’re more than a casual Star Wars fan then chances are you have already watched the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer several times, pausing and rewinding, searching every frame for clues. However, if that sounds too time consuming then you’re in luck! We’ve gone through and done all of that for you, all you have to do is read it. Of course if you haven’t watched the trailer it won’t make much sense…
1. The Lucasfilm Logo
Right away we are off to a good start. The first image in the trailer is the familiar green Lucasfilm Ltd. Logo. There’s no mention of Disney and no mention of JJ Abrams production company Bad Robot,. One of the great things about the Star Wars films is that they begin with minimal credits, thereby immersing you in the Star Wars universe almost instantly. If this trailer is any indication, The Force Awakens is going to follow tradition.
2. Long Desert Wide Shot
The next thing we see is someone on a speeder flying across the desert of a planet that JJ Abrams claims isn’t Tatooine. Could this be Daisy Ridley’s character Rey ? It seems like that would be a good guess since we see Rey riding a speeder across the desert in the first trailer for The Force Awakens. The most eye-catching thing about this shot is a crashed Star Destroyer in the background in fact it’s so distracting that you almost don’t notice the crashed X-Wing in the foreground. Clearly some kind of space battle went down here, and it didn’t end very well if the wreckage is any indication.
3. The Force Is Strong In My Family
Next we are treated to the familiar voice of Luke Skywalker as he repeats a speech he gave to Leia in Return Of The Jedi. Luke begins with“The force is strong in my family. My father has it” as he is saying this we are given a glimpse of Darth Vader’s melted helmet. Who retrieved it? Last time we saw Darth Vader, Luke was burning his corpse on Endor. Although we only see the helmet for a second it definitely doesn’t look like it’s on Endor.
Next Luke says “I have it” and we are shown someone (presumably Luke) sitting in what looks like a cave with R2D2 and putting a mechanical hand on Artoo’s dome. If it is Luke, he either has a new artificial hand or else all of the synthetic flesh has been stripped of this one.
“My sister has it” after Luke says this we see someone (possibly Rey?) handing what appears to be Luke’s old lightsaber ( the one he lost on Bespin along with his hand) to someone else, possibly Princess Leia. This would make the most sense as she is his sister and all. Much like Vader’s charred face-mask the real mystery here is who retrieved it … and did they get his severed hand too?
Lastly, what makes this speech different from the one in Return Of The Jedi is the addition of “You have that power too” Who is Luke saying this to? A niece? A nephew? Is the rumor that Rey is Han and Leia’s daughter true? We won’t find out until…
4. This Christmas
Next we are reminded of how much longer we have to wait to see The Force Awakens, but what a great Christmas gift!
5. Hey there’s that lightsaber everyone was complaining about last year
A flash of Rilo Ken and his triple-bladed lightsaber and then onto…
6. What is this a Michael Bay movie?
Rey, Finn, and BB-8 the adorable little rolling droid from the first trailer are running away from an explosion. Possibly caused by a blast from the TIE fighter behind them.
7. Revenge Of The Sith
Rilo Ken stands facing a group of Stormtroopers, themselves facing a group of civilians when suddenly he whips around to face the camera, hand raised like he’s force pushing something. This is our first real look at Rilo Ken’s mask. One look at the mask -which looks like a hybrid of Darth Reven and Darth Vader- and it’s easy to tell that Rilo Ken is The Force Awakens “Big Bad”.
8. Troopers, Troopers everywhere
This leads to more Stormtroopers, this time being addressed by someone up on a balcony with a giant flag above it. The flag appears to be adorned with a symbol we haven’t seen yet. Still it’s definitely more Imperial logo than Rebellion. Also of note, there is a turbolaser on the right side of the screen that looks very much like the ones on the surface of the Death Star in A New Hope.
9. A quick shot of Rey
holding…um…ice? A crystal from Superman: The Motion Picture? It’s not entirely clear.
10. Black TIE Affair
Two TIE fighters swooping down out of the sky. The new TIE fighters are black for some reason. No complaints, they look cool.
11. Hey Einstein, I’m On Your Side!
On what looks to be the hanger deck of a Star Destroyer or other large space craft a rogue TIE fighter is blasting other TIEs and Stormtroopers. Could this be Finn? We know he’s a storm trooper at some point in the movie but it’s also been strongly hinted that he switches sides. Could he steal a TIE fighter when he does?
12. Speaking Of …
We next see Finn removing his Stormtrooper helmet. If you pause it just right, you can see before he removes it that it’s covered in a bloody hand print.
13. Wide Space Shot
We see some new kinds of Imperial shuttles approach a Star Destroyer.
14. Another Black Stormtrooper
A Stormtrooper in shiny black reflective armor walks down a corridor cradling a blaster rifle and rocking a pretty sweet cape. Could this be Boba Fett? Popular fan theory is that Fett managed to escape the Sarlaac Pit somehow and is still alive. A new suit of armor would make sense if the other one got destroyed in the Sarlaac. It may seem like a long shot but the way this trooper is cradling that gun looks awfully familiar.
15. BB-8
The cutest little droid since R2D2 peeks around a familiar corner of a familiar ship … the Millennium Falcon. What the adorable little scamp is doing there is anyone’s guess, stowing away maybe?
16. Let’s Be Friends
Rey offers Finn – now dressed in civilian clothes- a hand getting up off of the ground. It appears that they are on the same desert planet from before.
17. The Fastest Ship In The Galaxy
Another one of those black TIE fighters pursues the Millennium Falcon into the wreckage of a giant star ship. It’s not the Star Destroyer from the beginning but it may be a different Star Destroyer. What else would be big enough to fly other space ships to fly around in?
18. Close-Up
The interior of the TIE fighter looks slightly different, as does the TIE pilot’s armor. One thing that hasn’t changed about these new TIE fighters though is the air situation as the pilot wears as an oxygen mask just like the ones worn by TIE pilots in the original trilogy.
19. They Saved The Best For Last
The trailer closes with a close up of Chewbacca and Han Solo back on the Millennium Falcon as Han remarks “Chewie, we’re home!” Cue tears of joy.
20. In 3D
The very, very last things are the logos for Real 3D and Imax 3D. This means that The Force Awakens will be the first Star Wars movie released in 3D. No we aren’t counting the Phantom Menace’s 3D re-release a few years ago. We don’t EVER count the Phantom Menace.
So what did you think of the trailer? Were you blown away or just mildly amused? Let us know in the comments.