The wait is finally over! “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is here! After months of speculation, rumors, and leaks, fans can finally head to their local theaters and find out the truth. Whether your personal theories were confirmed as canon or shattered like the planet of Alderaan, at least now we all know.
Except for all the things we don”t.
WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR “STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS” BEYOND THIS POINT!
We are living in the heyday of Star Wars. Right now there is a movie planned every year until at least 2020 set in a galaxy far, far away. But so many seeds were planted during “The Force Awakens” that that timeline could be extended by another decade. Whether film, comic, or novel, there were at least a dozen questions posed by “The Force Awakens” that I have no doubt Disney/Lucasfilm plan to answer.
Probably sooner rather than later.
#1: Who was the old man that Poe Dameron got the map from?
The opening crawl says General Leia has sent Poe Dameron on a mission to retrieve the map from an old ally. But who is this elderly gentleman who knows Leia will always be royalty to him and says giving Poe this information goes a long way to “making things right.”
Thirty years is a long time. It”s entirely possible he”s a new character with a brand-new background ripe for mining. Perhaps he”s an ex-Alderaanian – which would explain why Leia will always be a princess in his eyes. And he knows who Ren really his. But he also APPEARS to be older than Luke and Leia. Could he be a grown-up Erza Bridger?
#2: Were Rey”s dreams of her remembering the island or seeing the future?
When Kylo Ren invades Rey”s mind, he discovers her daydream: an ocean with an island in the middle of it. Which turns out later to be exactly the description of where Luke Skywalker has been hiding…and based on the ruins, the location of the first Jedi Temple. So which was it? Rey remembering a vague childhood memory and turning it into a dream or the Force calling out to her with hints to her future?
#3: Who left Rey on Jakku and why?
The movie heavily implies that Rey is the daughter of Luke Skywalker. So instead of father fighting son, we”ve got cousins battling it out…they just don”t know it yet. If Rey”s daydream of the Jedi Temple is a memory, she might have been present when Ben turned on her father. Someone then took her to that desert planet…but why there? Is Rey”s past tied to the Battle of Jakku?
If you notice in the Force vision, the person holding Rey”s arm as she begs not to be left behind looks like the Scrap Buyer that trades parts for food. Perhaps his motives for both acquiring the Falcon and removing BB-8 from Rey”s possession were more altruistic than they first appear. If she was left in his keeping, it would be in his interest to keep her on planet but with a “getaway” vehicle.
Perhaps Luke wanted her to be safe from the Dark Side. Or perhaps her mother – whoever that may be – spirited Rey to the far reaches of the galaxy and out of Snoke”s radar.
#4: How did Ben Solo become obsessed with his grandfather?
Who tells their Force sensitive child that their Pop-Pop was the most terrifying threat in the galaxy and fails to mention that Uncle Luke saved him from the Dark Side at the last minute? At what point did Ben Solo begin to idolize Darth Vader and what series of events would lead a – probable teenager – down a path so dark? At what point did he travel to Endor to retrieve his Pop-Pop”s helmet (and perhaps skull)? And just how did Snoke suss out this weak link in the Skywalker line and begin the cycle of history all over again?
#5: What series of events led to the Knights of Ren turning on the other Padawans?
Based on the number of dead bodies surrounding the Knights of Ren, Luke was in the process of training a LITERAL generation of Jedi. How did Ben Solo go about recruiting his Knights and where are they now? What catalyst led to the massacre in the rain and just what happened to the synth-flesh on Luke Skywalker”s hand? When did Han and Leia find out their son went to the Dark Side and what role did that play in their break-up?
#6: Who were Finn”s parents?
FN-2187 doesn”t remember his parents. He has no idea what planet he”s from or if his family is still alive. It”s doubtful the First Order would keep records of who the children they kidnapped belonged to. This isn”t a catch-and-release program. But with such mysterious origins, Finn could be just about anyone.
#7: How did Maz get the lightsaber?
When Han asks how Maz Kanata got Luke”s blue lightsaber – last seen falling into the bowels of Cloud City with Luke”s hand still attached – she says that”s a good question for another day. There is no way we won”t find out how the lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker ended up in a box in a cantina in the possession of Yoda”s friend.
Side note: Did the cellars below Maz”s place give anyone else an “ancient Jedi Temple” vibe?
#8: How did Captain Phasma get out of the trash compactor?
Kathleen Kennedy has pretty much confirmed Captain Phasma returns in Episode VIII – and thank goodness because there certainly wasn”t enough of her! But how does Phasma escape her trip to the trash compactor and just how did she get entangled with the First Order? Most importantly, is that shiny chrome armor lightsaber-proof?
#9: Seriously, is Supreme Leader Snoke Darth Plagueis??
No. For real. The movie did nothing but stoke the flames of this fan theory.
#10: What is the power balance split between the Republic, the Resistance, and the First Order?
We know the Resistance is fighting the First Order. We know the New Republic was secretly funding the Resistance and paid for it dearly. But in the wake of the second Death Star”s destruction, how did the balance of power shake out in such a way the Leia was once again on the side of Rebellion and not part of the Republic leadership?
#11: How did Han Solo lose the Millennium Falcon?
There”s a really great story here and Disney/Lucasfilm is going to tell it. Dollars to donuts it”s not really a coincidence the Millennium Falcon ended up on the same planet as Rey AND the old “ally” of Leia and Luke.
#12: How did Finn go from sanitation duty on Starkiller Base to ground troops?
Finn is an odd stormtrooper from the moment we first meet him. He clearly doesn”t want to be on Jakku killing (fairly) innocent civilians. He can”t even bring himself to shoot them. Later Finn confesses to Rey that he swore to himself he”d never kill for the First Order. Even later, it turns out he worked in the janitorial department on Starkiller Base. So how does a minion trained in sanitation go from the heart of the First Order to a battle mission directly under the control of Kylo Ren?