The new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer debuted on Thursday and, yes, to lifelong Star Wars fans, it’s absolutely wonderful to see Han Solo and Chewbacca again. And as someone who actually kind of likes spoilers, I’ve kept my ears open to, let’s call them “insiders,” who have a good working knowledge of the plot of The Force Awakens. Based on what we saw in the new trailer, a few things I’ve heard now seem likely to be true. And based on that, let’s discuss a few of these scenes with vague references to these rumors. So, in other words, there will be some pretty hefty plot discussion ahead, so if you want to go in blind, please stop reading.
“We’re Home.”
No, Han and Chewbacca aren’t just excited to be in a new Star Wars movie after 32 years away, the “home” they are referring to is the Millennium Falcon. At the beginning of The Force Awakens, Han and Chewie are not in possession of the Falcon, so what we’re probably seeing here is Han Solo and Chewbacca boarding their prized ship after a very long time away.
Then Who Has the Falcon?
That’s a much longer answer then we can dive into here, but, in this scene early in the film on the desert planet (or maybe moon) that we now know is Jakku, that’s not Han or Chewbacca flying the Falcon, that’s Finn (John Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) doing their best not to crash.
What is Luke Doing to R2-D2?
I’m hearing that this scene may be one of the rumored flashbacks that we’ve heard will be a part of The Force Awakens. Nobody really knows where Luke (Mark Hamill) is during a good portion of the film, and this scene, again, may be a flashback to the moment he parts ways with R2-D2, so that R2 can rejoin the Alliance.
There’s Still An Alliance?
Well … as we see in the trailer, there are certainly Rebel X-Wing Fighters and Stormtroopers, but that Imperial symbol looks a little different. There’s a good chance that what kind of feels like the Alliance and the Empire are still there, but they go by different names. And I have heard what might be the names, but that would be giving too much away … if it’s true.
Update: What I had heard is indeed true and io9 has photographic proof. What’s left of the Empire is now called The First Order and the Rebellion is now called the Resistance.
Who is That with Luke’s Lightsaber?
Hey, see that alien looking face that we sort of can get a glimpse of at the top right corner of this photo? Remember how Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o is in this movie, but we don’t hear much about her character? Well, I’m just going to leave it at that. (And that this character may have a connection to Luke.)
Mike Ryan has written for The Huffington Post, Wired, Vanity Fair and New York. He is senior entertainment writer at Uproxx. You can contact him directly on Twitter.
As for what’s taking so long to get The Force Awakens into theaters… it probably has a lot to do with J.J. Abrams having to deal with George Lucas’ incessant notes…
