The new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens just came out this past Monday, revealing a few new details about the movie to get us to look forward to December 18th. Needless to say, they succeeded in pulling it off by showing us new footage of all the characters, the vast, sweeping landscapes that await us, and a dazzling dogfight or two. Contrary to what much of the Internet is claiming, I think that it also revealed a great deal of information about the atmosphere of that galaxy far, far away. Here are just a few of them:
The Jedi And Sith Have Been Completely Forgotten.
Hey, Kylo. You’re being lied to.
About fifty years after the collapse of the Old Republic, the knowledge of the Jedi and Sith have been completely lost to history. As Rey said, there have been a number of stories told about the ancient adversaries, but they don’t know how much has been manipulated or if any of it could possibly be true. If you think about it for a little while, it makes a lot of sense when you consider the relative size of the two orders and their influence on the galaxy.
According to some canon sources, the Jedi only numbered in the tens of thousands in a galaxy of trillions upon trillions of sentient beings, and could have easily been considered to be nothing more than another government agency that wants to test kids for special abilities and offer them a life where they will be cared for. Very few people outside of the order are likely to know anything about the Force, and what they do know is that a lot of the Jedi were involved in settling basic disputes over stuff like taxes.
For the Sith, it is even more obvious. Their presence was a complete secret and only known to a few select people that saw their Force powers in action, such as Admiral Piett in Empire. To the rest of the world, the Emperor could have been seen as an ordinary, but rather old and decrepit leader who saved the galaxy from falling into chaos. No one but Luke knows what really happened on the Second Death Star. Speaking of which:
Luke May Be Engaged In A Secret War.
Luke is a shadow that looms over the movie, even though he is barely anywhere in the marketing.
For whatever reason, Luke was never able or willing to re-establish the Jedi Order in its’ original form and appears to be in hiding or working as a secret warrior. Since he is the only one that has access to the knowledge of the Old Republic through Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Anakin, it seems reasonable to suggest that Luke either turned his new order into something that resembles the Rule of Two from the Sith or created tiny cells of Jedi that are separated from the worries of the galaxy. With the Sith eliminated, it is possible that Luke has tasked himself with conducted a secret war against the Dark Side instead of integrating himself into the affairs of the wider galaxy. That would explain why he could easily be propelled into fighting against the Knights of Ren, which appear to be Sith worshipers.
It is highly unlikely that Luke could not have found anyone to train until this movie, especially since the New Republic or Resistance would see new Jedi as an asset in hunting down hostile Force users even though they would be separated from politics. Otherwise, J.J. and his team would have to introduce some sort of odd reason why the Force would suddenly emerge in people just now (Please don’t be Midichlorians! Please!).
Rey Or Kylo (Or Both) Are Pretty Much Guaranteed To Be The Children Of Han And Leia.
You’re no one? Yeah, right.
This is perhaps the most speculated upon story point of the sequel trilogy, but it is pretty blatantly obvious because of the way that Disney and J.J. Abrams marketed the story as a continuation of the Skywalker saga. Oh, and the fact that they both have no surnames in the marketing is a big giveaway. Rey is just Rey, whereas Ren is a title that the Knights of Ren pass onto their members. When you add the fact that she is supposedly a main character, but also someone that is “no one”, and you have a pretty big indicator of where they are going with this story.
In fact, it might be the one place where they were inspired by the (now defunct) Expanded Universe. If you’ve read the post-Jedi books, then you know the story of Jacen and Jaina Solo. They may have followed the basic concept, but they are evading detection from most people by putting their own spin on it as any great writers should.
Now, you might be asking this. What about Finn? John Boyega’s character has no last name and he is wielding Anakin’s lightsaber in the trailer. That could be explained in some other way, such as how the First Order might remove names to promote uniformity among their cannon fodder.
Poe Dameron Could Be Turned Into A Sleeper Agent (Or May Just Be Awakened To The Force).
The ladies love superior firepower.
You remember that one scene in the trailer where Poe appeared to be under the thrall of Kylo’s Force powers? Well, two plausible ways that his character could get out of that situation would be if Kylo either turns him with some sort of Dark Mind Trick or accidentally awakens him to the fact that he, like many others, is also Force sensitive. I think that the latter point will be the most likely scenario. If you want to know why I think this way, I’ll post the spoiler down below.
That being said, it would be very interesting (and extremely dark) if Kylo turned Poe into an operative inside the Resistance that could be activated Manchurian Candidate-style, but I am betting that he remains a hero because he is the third main character in this new branch of the saga.
The Music Is Going To Rock Your World.
Seriously, can we all take a moment to just admire that score? John Williams is back and he has evolved his repertoire with a little bit of old and new.
Conclusion
Is it December yet? We are all looking forward to this movie, but I think that we want time to go by faster so that we can see it right now. Damn you, Disney and J.J., for making us wait!
Spoiler Corner
Are the rest of them gone? Good.
Here’s why I think that Poe is Force sensitive. The canon comic in the Journey to The Force Awakens marketing effort called Shattered Empire reveals the backstory of the Damerons and their relationship to what was then the Rebel Alliance. In the aftermath of Endor, a Rebel pilot that is heavily implied to be Poe’s mother goes on a secret mission with Luke to retrieve two tree saplings that were taken by the Emperor from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He takes one and gives one to the Damerons for their new home, saying that the Force is with the trees.
What if the tree transferred something within itself to Poe that would give him the power, but he wasn’t aware of it until Kylo unleashed it by torturing him?
Just a thought.
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