Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens Trailer Breakdown and Reactions

New Star Wars trailer! My head says “it’s only a trailer”, but the rest of me is running around making light sabre noises . Zzzziwwwww! Whooosh!

(deep breath)

Let’s just take this calmly, one shot at a time, shall we?

Fade from black
It takes 10 seconds into the trailer to fade up. 10 SECONDS. You could have fitted in an extra shot of things exploding there, guys.

Star Wars trailer desert

Sand! The chances are good that we’re back on Tattooine, connecting it directly to the locations of the original films.

“There has been an awakening” – Who’s speaking? It sounds a bit like Smaug, or at least, Benedict Cumberbatch? He worked with J J Abrams on Star Trek Into Darkness and is known to have visited the Star Wars set. Given that he’s Hollywood’s new go-to British villain, could he be playing a new Sith baddie?

John Boyega Star Wars trailer

Here’s John Boyega, who appears to be pretty panicked on finding himself out in the desert. He was also in Attack the Block, but is far from an established name. It’s great to be getting new talent – can you imagine taking on a gig like this?

Rollerdroid Star Wars trailer

Here’s a trick R2D2 didn’t have, even in the prequels. Is this going to be a new comedy droid?

New Stormtroopers Star Wars 7 trailer

Some subtly redesigned Stormtroopers – is John Boyega one of them, and gets separated from his troop? What’s their mission?

Stormtroopers about to drop Star Wars 7 trailer

Cool shot this. Feels really solid – looks like the emphasis on practical sets over CGI is going to pay off nicely. Though no doubt the old favourites will be back.

Daisy Ridley Star Wars 7 trailer

Here’s Daisy Ridley, taking on a Luke Skywalker-like role, by the looks of things. She already looks pretty badass.

Daisy Ridley Star Wars 7 trailer

Vrooom!

Rebel Fighter Star Wars 7 trailer

Rebel fighters. Great designs that still hold up today.

vlcsnap-2014-11-28-15h31m50s189This is another very cool shot. Is this the same snowy planet as in later shots?

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“The dark side…”
Oooh, this looks very evil! The Sith have been taking lessons in sinister from the Klu Klux Klan with that flaming-cross-like lightsabre. Who is it? It’s hard to tell who the actor is. I’m guessing a she – possibly Gwendoline Christiefrom Game of Thrones, who’s also no stranger to prosthetics, having played Lexi in BBC’s Aliens vs Wizards. Let me know your theories below!

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“..and the light!”
Millennium Falcon! Tie Fighters! hyperventilates

9888DDF6-CC8A-4546-949D-3D42C16D40BAWell, that’s woken me up on a quiet Friday afternoon.

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What do you mean, we have to wait a whole year?!?!

Notable by their absence… Luke, Han and Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2. This trailer is looking forward, not back, which is just as it should be.

It’s hard to judge how good a film will be from just a teaser trailer. The trailers for The Phantom Menace looked cool back in the day. The fact that it’s Star Wars guarantees a hyperbolic level of excitement. But as a tease for the new characters and a return to that galaxy far, far away, it seems pretty well judged. Next December can’t come soon enough!

What did you think of the trailer? Are there clues that I’ve missed?

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