Response to the “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” Teaser

Well, two weeks after it has been released I finally have some time to sit down and get all this off my mind, smh.  Anywho…

First off, here’s the teaser (watch it, even if you’ve seen it a million times, the 1,000,001th time is just as good as the first):

Let’s go scene by scene here:

Opening & Finn Appears:
Is this Tatooinee? We don’t know; if it is cool, and if it isn’t that’s okay too, but I think it is. Obi-Wan Kenobi was able to hide there for a long time undiscovered by Emperial forces, and based on the released synopsis we know Luke Skywalker has withdrawn from society – to retire to Ben’s homestead would be an homage to his upbringing, his first teacher and the one who introduce him to the force, as well as the film paying tribute to where this universe started cinematically and putting the audience somewhere it feels comfortable. Who’s heart doesn’t skip a beat when a deep ominous voice interrupts our thoughts? I love it. These words though, “There has been an awakening… Have you felt it?” Let us know that someone, someone who probably isn’t a good person, is in-tune with the Force and is ready to act.
Now, the trooper appears. I’m not a fan of how he appears, my wife actually laughed when she saw it (I said “watch this” without telling her what it was). I do not know if John Boyega is playing a good guy or a bad guy, but either way I like him in a stormtrooper suit; either we’re getting a “peak beneath the helmet” like we did in EU books, or (fingers crossed) it is a throwback to Episode IV: A New Hope where Luke and Han disguised themselves aboard the Death Star. We know John Boyega is playing a major role and that his name is Finn, and while I hope we are not just getting new versions of the same characters, so to ask “Is this the new Luke?” would not give proper credit to the writing staff, but I do have to ask, because of the possible “stormtrooper disguise”, is Finn the primary character and the new face of the Jedi Order?

BB-8, the Rolling Droid:
How cute! Some new droid styles are to be expected and should be embraced. A junkyard is behind BB-8, another ANH similarity. Star Wars junkyards hold a special place in my heart because in SWCCG Crash Site Memorial is almost necessary for me to be victorious.

Storm Troopers:
This is intense. How short these clips are (I know it is on purpose, its a teaser, not even a full trailer) is really epitomized here: a glimpse of the helmet redesign, some changes to the Imperial Blaster Rifle (no longer E-11 I take it), opening of the troop transport door… all in a few seconds. But it tells us that the war is still going strong, the Empire still has an organized and equipped military, and we will see some new terrain in this film as well.

Rey, the Girl In The Desert:
Not much to say here, a short look at Daisy Ridley, possibly on Tatooine again. But based on the expressions on her and John Boyega’s faces, I think their “good guys” running from someone, and they are scared. Which makes sense if the Force appeared dormant for thirty years and now a Sith Lord has appeared.

X-Wings Over the Water:
YES YES YES YES YES. Oh man, this is cool. We’ve seen starfighters, x-wings in specific, in action within an atmosphere in the Rogue Squadron books and comics (In the Shadow of Yavin also comes to mind right now with the black coloring in the helmet redesign). Is this Rouge Squadron? Don’t know. Without a doubt, this scene is the most anticipated moment in the upcoming movie for me personally. The terrain is pretty cool looking. Are the rebels looking for a new planet to use as their base of operations?

New Lightsaber:
Based on website headlines and my Facebook feed this is the most talked about portion of the trailer. We get a glimpse at our new Sith (Jedi don’t use red blades), the scene is pretty cool, and then, AND THEN Kylo Ren whips out a light saber THAT HAS A CROSSGAURD!!!! (Had to edit out some exclamation points, got it down to four.). Now, a light saber with a hilt like this is not unheard of in the EU, Roblio Darte carried one with a single, angled hilt.

Three things about this lightsaber:
1. It looks super cool. Maybe kinda long, hard to tell, and the protrusions from the side scream “I am stronger than you.”.
2. Not a bad idea. While this meme is meant to be funny it expresses a solid point. (thank you mashable for the meme)

In traditional sword manufacturing many swords had some apparatus to protect the wielder’s wrist/arm, why couldn’t a lightsaber? (see #3 for a potential answer)
3. It is inelegant. Lightsabers are not swords, not even “laser swords”. A lightsaber, according to Obi-Wan Kenobi, “This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.”.
Now, no one was as adept at manipulating their lightsaber as Ex’ar Khun, his could change length and density/intensity and was the first to sport multiple blades, but all that was in keeping with a sleek tool, not a weapon of brute force, which the hilt implies.
But maybe that is what is meant to be implied. Maybe this Sith is not refined, plays by even fewer rules, and has learned from the mistakes of others in the past (was this a student of Vader himself who did not wish to see their appendages suffer the same fate as Anikin’s? Or maybe even a student of Luke’s who has turned to the dark side? Is this Sith and the girl on the speeder in the desert the offspring of one or more of our previous heroes who have ventured down very different paths? The Expanded Universe is not being followed, but Jason and Jania have a compelling story…).

Millennium Falcon Enters with Original Score:
If until this point you had not gotten excited, if nothing had yet stirred in you the same excitement you felt the very first time you saw a Star Wars movie this will. This song, this ship, these maneuvers, they will get your blood pumping faster. And again, I am liking the idea of terrestrial dog fights with spacecraft! Maybe this is a rondevous mission similar to that is BOOK NAME MAYBE SHIELD OF LIES.

So excited for this movie!

P.S. – Not an official trailer, may be entirely fan-made, but some parts look pretty legit – it is a fun watch.

There are some really interesting and exciting elements here, most notably to me the tower rising in the desert. One of my first comic books was the first Star Wars: Devilworlds issue, in-which Luke ventures into a lone tower only to find an entity set on destroying the Jedi in the Blind Fury! story.

Thank you StarWars.com for the teaser and scene pics/cards!