Star Wars Force Awakens (Dec 17th) Official Trailers & links

[BigTransformerTrev]

The new trailer doesn't look too bad at all, I'm not the biggest Star Wars nut in the world but I'll be going to check out this flick.

One question - how long do Wookies live? Han Solo is looking Hella old in this clip, yet Chewbacca looks the same as he did in Episode 3 when Han was prob just a bubba

[Megatran]

Tickets have gone on sale for midnight screening.

[Meister]

Trailer looks awesome, would be lying if I said I'm not pumped up to see it, particularly pumped that I will get to experience it with my kids.

I like the fact that they appear to be going with (for the general population) the whole Jedi and Sith saga as being some sort of fairy tale legend/ illuminati conspiracy thing, which is what I got from the implied "stories" line as they say. Also the character development for Han, from hoki religions to "they're real" is pretty cool. Does it appear to be going over old ground from the OT?, well with the planet destroying space station, evil empire, rebels, a special nobody from nowhere being thrown into the mix and rediscovery of the force, sure it probably is, I also am probably inclined to think that Abrams will likely try to incorporate a plot twist like the OT, but I don't really care (seriously most stories tend to follow a similar formula) but so long as the storytelling is done well so that you are drawn into it and the characters, I will have little to complain about, especially seeing the original cast reviving their roles makes it a special kind of special already in my eyes

Bring it on I say

[GoktimusPrime]

I like the fact that they appear to be going with (for the general population) the whole Jedi and Sith saga as being some sort of fairy tale legend/ illuminati conspiracy thing, which is what I got from the implied "stories" line as they say.

Agreed. And it makes sense considering that:

1/ Force Users have always been a rarity, even during the time of the Republic. Until the Clone Wars, most of the galactic population had never encountered a Jedi. And even then, still most of the galactic population would have never encountered a Jedi anyway -- the typical refugee or fighter would've faced droids or clones. When the Senate sent Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui Gon Jinn to end the Nemoidian blockade of Naboo, the Nemoidians freaked out as none of them had ever met a Jedi IRL. And Sith are even rarer -- even the Jedi had just presumed that the Sith had become extinct 1000 years ago, and during the Clone Wars there were very few Sith, with the movies explaining the Sith's Rule of Two, and it's true - we only ever see 2 Sith at any one time in the movies. Force Users in the SW universe are like a reclusive religious order. Even if most of the population may be aware of their existence, very few would have ever met one, let alone understand much about them. How many of us have ever met a Franciscan Monk or a member of the Amish community IRL? The Original Trilogy very much established just how obscure the Force had become. Aside from Han's dismissal, we also had this memorable conversation in Ep IV:
Darth Vader: "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force."
Admiral Motti: "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient Jedi religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you enough clairvoyance to find the rebels' hidden fortress... hrrrkkkk--"
Darth Vader: "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Also the character development for Han, from hoki religions to "they're real" is pretty cool.

Yeah, I've seen these comments crop up online since yesterday, but in all honesty, it's nothing new. Han's character started developing way back in the latter part of A New Hope, basically from the moment that he changed his mind and turned back to help the Rebels destroy the Death Star.

"You're all clear, kid. Now let's blow this thing and go home!"

Of course, we see Han and Luke (but not Chewie?!? ) being given medals for the part that they played in the destruction of the first Death Star. This is a clear shift from Han being the self-interested scoundrel to becoming someone who cares for others and is willing to risk himself for the greater good. Turning back and joining the Rebels placed Han in great danger, as he was unable to repay his debt to Jabba the Hutt. Han could have very easily followed his initial plan to abandon the Rebels and deliver his reward money to Jabba, thus lifting the bounty on his head.

The Original Trilogy is very much character driven, which IMO is what makes it so much better than the Prequel Trilogy. But yeah, it's great that Abrams is definitely taking Han as the character that he had developed into by the end of the Original Trilogy and running with it. He's not the selfish scoundrel that he was when we first saw him at Mos Eisley, because quite frankly he changed from being that character back at the Battle of Yavin.

[5FDP]

I so want to take the kids to see this as I have fond memories of seeing the first 3 movies at the cinema (for clarity, episodes 4, 5, and 6 ) however this looks waaaaay too dark for kids 8 years and under. I might have to see it several times first to make up my mind

[Meister]

Agreed. And it makes sense considering that:

1/ Force Users have always been a rarity, even during the time of the Republic. Until the Clone Wars, most of the galactic population had never encountered a Jedi. And even then, still most of the galactic population would have never encountered a Jedi anyway -- the typical refugee or fighter would've faced droids or clones. When the Senate sent Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui Gon Jinn to end the Nemoidian blockade of Naboo, the Nemoidians freaked out as none of them had ever met a Jedi IRL. And Sith are even rarer -- even the Jedi had just presumed that the Sith had become extinct 1000 years ago, and during the Clone Wars there were very few Sith, with the movies explaining the Sith's Rule of Two, and it's true - we only ever see 2 Sith at any one time in the movies. Force Users in the SW universe are like a reclusive religious order. Even if most of the population may be aware of their existence, very few would have ever met one, let alone understand much about them. How many of us have ever met a Franciscan Monk or a member of the Amish community IRL? The Original Trilogy very much established just how obscure the Force had become. Aside from Han's dismissal, we also had this memorable conversation in Ep IV:
Darth Vader: "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force."
Admiral Motti: "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient Jedi religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you enough clairvoyance to find the rebels' hidden fortress... hrrrkkkk--"
Darth Vader: "I find your lack of faith disturbing.".

First off, just want to say that my connection to Star Wars is limited to the theatrical films only (for whatever reason, I never seemed to want to get into all the fan fiction, I’ve always preferred to focus and enjoy the saga solely as a cinematic experience) so you’ll have to forgive me for my limited knowledge for anything outside the theatrical storyline. Having said that, I still consider Empire Strikes Back to be one of my favourite films of all time.

In relation to the above, I also agree it makes sense to go this way, primarily because whilst we as the audience have had a front row seat to the whole Jedi / Sith struggle throughout the series, particularly through the PT which basically focused its storyline solely on that aspect, in the big scheme of things, the majority of the population would have viewed the collapse of the republic, inception of the galactic empire, and the subsequent rise of the rebellion as nothing other than the result of waring nations (or perhaps I should say systems in this case) pursuing political conquest due to opposing interests and ideology. The presence of the Jedi themselves would be rare and I also doubt anyone outside the Jedi and his own immediate circle even knew or remotely considered Palpatine to be a Sith. He would simply be viewed as a cunning politician who rose to power during a time of war which saw him seize control and implement authoritarian rule. The only aspect in my mind that brings up a bit of contention to this view is the fact that during the clone wars, it was the Jedi who were in charge of the military offensive against the separatists. Much like in any war, the consequential propaganda machine that follows would have highlighted this aspect to the public, also the members of the senate would have had to be aware of the Jedi’s significant role in the republic to entrust them to lead their military during the war, therefore despite the rarity of the Jedi presence, and whether or not anyone had actually encountered or met a Jedi wouldn’t have much relevance as it would have to be assumed that their reputation and significant role in the republic (being the defenders of the republic) would have been common public knowledge to all at that time. Of course moving forward from the events of Episode III to episode IV, we can assume that Palpatine implemented his own propaganda machine against this reputation and likely sought to tarnish and destroy/remove all evidence of even their existence or importance other than being a “cult” that attempted a coup on the ruling government during the war. During the events of the OT, I also doubt anyone knew of Luke and Vadar’s struggle outside Luke’s immediate circle, it seemed to be entirely a personal pursuit rather than an aspect of the rebellions military offensive. Moving forward from Episode VI to Episode VII, assuming about half a century has passed since the clone wars, we see knowledge of the Jedi and their role diminishing amongst a new generation and relegated to a form of Myth. Perhaps only the timeline, being approximately 50 years can be considered a bit short in the eyes of the audience but, I’m OK with it, it could be possible and obviously you can only work with what you got. Again, assuming the assumption is correct, I like it that they chose to present it this way, it sort of grounds the story a bit better than the PT did and also gives us as the audience, a special seat in it all since we are privy to the secret truth of it all.

On another note how awesome is that scene “Enough of this, Vadar, release him” “As you wish”

Yeah, I've seen these comments crop up online since yesterday, but in all honesty, it's nothing new. Han's character started developing way back in the latter part of A New Hope, basically from the moment that he changed his mind and turned back to help the Rebels destroy the Death Star.

"You're all clear, kid. Now let's blow this thing and go home!"

Of course, we see Han and Luke (but not Chewie?!? ) being given medals for the part that they played in the destruction of the first Death Star. This is a clear shift from Han being the self-interested scoundrel to becoming someone who cares for others and is willing to risk himself for the greater good. Turning back and joining the Rebels placed Han in great danger, as he was unable to repay his debt to Jabba the Hutt. Han could have very easily followed his initial plan to abandon the Rebels and deliver his reward money to Jabba, thus lifting the bounty on his head.

The Original Trilogy is very much character driven, which IMO is what makes it so much better than the Prequel Trilogy. But yeah, it's great that Abrams is definitely taking Han as the character that he had developed into by the end of the Original Trilogy and running with it. He's not the selfish scoundrel that he was when we first saw him at Mos Eisley, because quite frankly he changed from being that character back at the Battle of Yavin.

Well depends how you’re viewing it, I think this development is new to a degree if we focus specifically on his belief in the force. In this respect, I can’t say I could view Han as anything but a cynic. I also can’t associate Han joining the rebellion with him being a believer of the force, especially not by the end of Episode IV, I think it would only be by the time of episode VI, that he had begun to accept that the force is real, and that result would only be due to the totality of his experiences with Luke, and perhaps Vadar as well (Vadar stopping his shots and taking his blaster from him in Empire, seeing him lift C3PO on Endor and Luke’s significance to Palpatine, etc). As for his development in Episode IV, I am inclined to opine that his involvement with the Death Star battle at the end had less to do with his desire to join the Rebellions cause, but rather more to do with going back to help what he then considered to now be his friends. Ultimately he went back to help out Luke (and Leia). His character development in episode IV came more from being one who disassociated himself from others (avoiding any form of new personal relationships), sort of being a “lone ranger” with introverted interests, to allowing himself to open up to others and develop new friendships, and it was through this that we find him to actually be quite a caring individual with a conscience as opposed to his rough and tough “don’t care about anything but me” persona. It was the consequence of this new friendship that saw him join the rebellions cause by the end of Episode IV (which no doubt the reward ceremony would have helped him feel more part of the team rather than like an outsider) and become invested to something other and bigger than just his own personal interests which led on to his role he assumed at the beginning of Episode V (even though he was still intending to leave Hoth to pay his bounty), and that’s not to mention his attraction with Leia either.

I agree that the OT is more character driven and furthermore, the characters seem more grounded and relatable which is why it stands out a lot more. In the end, I tend to try and take a step back and not let my expectations go into overdrive by investing too much in the hype, but rather try and view the saga for what it is, a PG friendly sci-fi fantasy trying to make itself accessible to a considerably large audience. In this regard, as I said previously, so long as the story telling is done well and I find myself being drawn in to the storyline and characters, I will have little to complain about. Also seeing how Abrams went about Star Trek, I think we should be in for a pretty decent cinematic experience

[millhouse]

http://thedigitaltheater.com/index.p...-trailer-list/ if you're after 1080p and lossless surround sound options.

[GoktimusPrime]

First off, just want to say that my connection to Star Wars is limited to the theatrical films only (for whatever reason, I never seemed to want to get into all the fan fiction, I’ve always preferred to focus and enjoy the saga solely as a cinematic experience) so you’ll have to forgive me for my limited knowledge for anything outside the theatrical storyline.

That's fine. Everything I'm discussing is just from the movies anyway.

It's amazing what propaganda can do to change people's knowledge and perception of history. We're often taught that during WWII, the Allies were the "good guys" and Axis Powers were "bad guys." But even the children's "Horrible Histories" book series points out the fallacy of this perception, pointing out that in reality atrocities were committed on both sides. We hear lots about atrocities committed by Axis forces, but how often have you heard about atrocities committed by Allies? How often do you hear about the atrocities committed by the Anzacs during the Kokoda campaign? The Nazi party has been universally associated with all things evil, but the fact was that there were some good people in that party. Oskar Schindler would be the most well known, due to the Spielberg movie, but there were many others such as John Rabe etc. And of course, Benjamin Netanyahu's recent comments is just doing wonders for Israeli-Palestinian relations. Heck, there's a lot of misconceptions about wars that are happening right now! The Assad regime is arguably a greater threat to Syrians than ISIS. The recent tragedy in Parramatta was enacted by a boy of Kurdish ethnicity, despite the fact that the Kurds are actually fighting on the front line against ISIS. Heck, just a few days ago I saw someone make an online post, criticising NSW Police's motto, claiming that having a Latin motto is "foreign and unpatriotic." Ya know... despite the fact that English, a West Germanic language, is also foreign to Australia... and the fact that the words 'foreign' and 'patriotic' (as well as numerous other words in her full post) are of Latin origin.

So yeah, despite everything that's happened, it wouldn't surprise me if facts and information became diluted and corrupted through time. And it's often said that "history is seen through the eyes of the victors," so considering that the Jedi ultimately lost (thus allowing the Empire to rise), it's believable that they may have faded into obscurity. And the Sith were never about revealing themselves to the galaxy anyway. As you've said, probably nobody outside of Luke's personal circle would've been aware of what was happening with him and Vader. The fact that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker probably still remains a great secret to most people.

As for Han's character shift, we can actually see it even as he's taking his reward money away.
Luke: "Okay. Take care of yourself Han. I guess that's what you're best at isn't it?"
Han: "Hey, Luke. May the Force be with you."
(A New Hope)

And Han never says anything cynical about the Force after that moment. If you equate it role playing game alignments, Han arguably starts off as being True Neutral or Chaotic Good, but by the time he reaches Yavin, has begun shifting towards being Neutral Good. Who knows how Han Solo's character may have developed in the intervening decades between Episodes VI and VII. Is he Chaotic Good, or is he Lawful Good? Time will tell. But Han definitely moved past being the selfish True Neutral or Chaotic Good character that he was prior to his arrival on Yavin. Yep... Han Solo had more character development in A New Hope than every Transformer combined in the live action films.

[Meister]

It's amazing what propaganda can do to change people's knowledge and perception of history. We're often taught that during WWII, the Allies were the "good guys" and Axis Powers were "bad guys." But even the children's "Horrible Histories" book series points out the fallacy of this perception, pointing out that in reality atrocities were committed on both sides. We hear lots about atrocities committed by Axis forces, but how often have you heard about atrocities committed by Allies? How often do you hear about the atrocities committed by the Anzacs during the Kokoda campaign? The Nazi party has been universally associated with all things evil, but the fact was that there were some good people in that party. Oskar Schindler would be the most well known, due to the Spielberg movie, but there were many others such as John Rabe etc. And of course, Benjamin Netanyahu's recent comments is just doing wonders for Israeli-Palestinian relations. Heck, there's a lot of misconceptions about wars that are happening right now! The Assad regime is arguably a greater threat to Syrians than ISIS. The recent tragedy in Parramatta was enacted by a boy of Kurdish ethnicity, despite the fact that the Kurds are actually fighting on the front line against ISIS. Heck, just a few days ago I saw someone make an online post, criticising NSW Police's motto, claiming that having a Latin motto is "foreign and unpatriotic." Ya know... despite the fact that English, a West Germanic language, is also foreign to Australia... and the fact that the words 'foreign' and 'patriotic' (as well as numerous other words in her full post) are of Latin origin.

So yeah, despite everything that's happened, it wouldn't surprise me if facts and information became diluted and corrupted through time. And it's often said that "history is seen through the eyes of the victors," so considering that the Jedi ultimately lost (thus allowing the Empire to rise), it's believable that they may have faded into obscurity. And the Sith were never about revealing themselves to the galaxy anyway. As you've said, probably nobody outside of Luke's personal circle would've been aware of what was happening with him and Vader. The fact that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker probably still remains a great secret to most people.

As much as I usually enjoy discussing political topics, I think it would probably be more appropriate to not venture down that road here since there can be many divided views in this respect, and many people tend to have difficulty in removing themselves from emotion when discussing some of the topics you highlighted, ultimately I don’t think this forum is really the place to delve into those type of discussions since they tend to facilitate unnecessary division more then anything else in these kind of settings (hope you are understanding of my view in this regard, no offence is implied).

Having said that, I generally agree with the statement that “history is seen through the eyes of the victors”, and add that I believe perception plays a significant role in influencing peoples opinion on a matter, and when you combine that with the activating element of propaganda, being repetition, trying to promote a certain perception as being absolute truth can be achievable. I sort of relate this occurrence to how the music industry promote pop songs, if you play it again and again on the radio, repeatedly, after a while, one day, you’ll find yourself singing along to it (that is also regardless if you find yourself saying “why the hell am I singing that crappy song for” upon realising your singing it)

However, to go back on topic I also agree that the association between Vadar and Anakin would be virtually unknown to anyone (I mean I wasn’t even expecting that bombshell ).

As for Han's character shift, we can actually see it even as he's taking his reward money away.
Luke: "Okay. Take care of yourself Han. I guess that's what you're best at isn't it?"
Han: "Hey, Luke. May the Force be with you."
(A New Hope)

And Han never says anything cynical about the Force after that moment. If you equate it role playing game alignments, Han arguably starts off as being True Neutral or Chaotic Good, but by the time he reaches Yavin, has begun shifting towards being Neutral Good. Who knows how Han Solo's character may have developed in the intervening decades between Episodes VI and VII. Is he Chaotic Good, or is he Lawful Good? Time will tell. But Han definitely moved past being the selfish True Neutral or Chaotic Good character that he was prior to his arrival on Yavin.

Well the only direct indication we have in relation to his belief in the force is that one line in Episode IV, which is fair to say established him as a cynic. We haven’t really gotten another direct indication of his view until this trailer which implies he has become a believer. In the OT the force was portrayed primarily as a sort of religion, i.e. believing in the force could be akin to someone being a believer in God. When we look at it from a theological point of view, Han could be considered at the beginning as an atheist. It is unlikely for an atheist to be convinced there is a God based on discussion alone, such a leap of faith can only be made if that individual came to such a conclusion on their own, usually as a result of obtaining or directly experiencing some kind of practical evidence in their eyes of the existence of God. However, holding an atheist view does not necessarily mean you can not respect or accommodate other people’s belief in God. If any shift of Han’s view of the force was implied by the conclusion of Episode IV, at most it would be from a dismissing atheist to an accepting/respective atheist or border line agnostic.

Having said that I do agree with you that the most significant development of Han’s character occurred by the end of Episode IV, until now that is

Yep... Han Solo had more character development in A New Hope than every Transformer combined in the live action films.

And this is ultimately my biggest gripe with the Michael Bay Transformer movies. Personally I’m not a hater of Michael Bay, the guy does what he does, and he does it well. My issue is the disconnection between the four movies, they really are just four individual pop songs, there’s no bigger continuous theme linking them all together, they aint no rock opera (concept album), and its because of this that I can’t help but feel frustrated. Frustrated because of the missed opportunity to have something more memorable, that could stand the test of time a bit better. With all the resources at his disposal, Bay could have sought to make his big budget rock opera, leave a stamp on cinematic history, and he had plenty of lore to draw from , but for whatever reason, he didn’t, and has left the series empty, soulless in my eyes. To try and explain what I mean better, when I put A New Hope on, once its done the only thing in my head is to watch Empire Strikes Back, followed by Return of the Jedi, because I have to complete the whole story. Similarly when I put Fellowship of the Ring on, or even The Matrix, my viewing experience is not considered over until I watch the complete trilogy, because to watch only one is only seeing part of the story. I don’t get that feeling with the Transformers movies. I could easily go from Movie 1 to Dark of the Moon and not feel I have missed anything. Watching one movie does not make me feel like I have to watch the next. There is no association between the series for me, and this to me is huge injustice to the transformer franchise, hence why I can’t help but get frustrated at such a missed opportunity to make something which I hold fond childhood memories of, into something a little more epic and memorable. Nevertheless I still appreciate the fact that the movies were done, and were successful enough to resurrect the transformers franchise for another generation. I mean its pretty amazing seeing my kids develop their own enthusiasm over the same thing and at the same period of their life that I did, even if its the Bay movies I have to thank for that.

[Krayt]

The new trailer doesn't look too bad at all, I'm not the biggest Star Wars nut in the world but I'll be going to check out this flick.

One question - how long do Wookies live? Han Solo is looking Hella old in this clip, yet Chewbacca looks the same as he did in Episode 3 when Han was prob just a bubba

Chewie was 200 during ANH.... His dad was 350 at the same time...