Star Wars: The Force Awakens Photos - Let's Over-Analyze The First Trailer
This morning, Disney and Lucasfilm released the first trailer for JJ Abrams's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. You can watch that awesome trailer here, in case you haven't seen it already. (Or if, like me, you want to watch it over and over again.) And for those of you who really want to take in all of the visuals revealed in the first Star Wars Episode 7 teaser trailer, we have compiled a batch of high resolution images from the film to let you take in all the awesomeness one image at a time. Hit the jump to see the Star Wars The Force Awakens photos now.
Update: We have added a Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer commentary video after the jump.Condensed Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer Commentary:
This post contains a ton of information, but we have condensed the best of it all into a trailer commentary for Star Wars: The Force Awakens recorded by David Chen. Watch that below, but also check out the rest of this post for more geeky details like does "Daisy Ridley's character have a lightsaber on her speeder bike?"
Note: The trailer was released in both 2D and 3D.
"There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?" asks a voice, which we think is probably Andy Serkis. We don't yet know yet what role Andy Serkis plays in The Force Awakens. Some other fans are theorizing that its Benedict Cumberbatch, who has been consistently rumored as having a part in the new film.
We see a sandy desert planet — it could be Tatooine, or it could just be another planet in the galaxy that looks the same.
And then a stormtrooper pops up into screen, he is sweating with his mask off but still in full uniform. Don't let that Imperial Stormtrooper armor fool you. This is one of The Force Awakens lead characters, played by John Boyega. As far as we know he is a good guy. This shot also tells us that the Galactic Empire did not fall after the epic Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi — three decades later they are still around.
Boyega's character looks frantically around. What is he looking for? He seems to be in duress. We believe he crashed on this planet.
We hear an Imperial Probe Droid transmission sound at 00:23-:25. Is Boyega receiving a transmission or is an Imperial Probe Droid nearby?
We then start hearing trumpet music, very reminiscent of the Sarlacc Pit score. This is new John Williams Star Wars score.
Yes, that's new John Williams score in #TheForceAwakens teaser.
— Star Wars (@starwars) November 28, 2014
Notice the new back of the Stormtrooper armor, it is smoother and more modern looking — instead of a modular back plate it appears there is a magnetic attachment.
Another note pointed out by a reader:
That #TheForceAwakens trailer opening shot was reminiscent to the LOST pilot. Uniquely JJ Abrams in style. @slashfilm pic.twitter.com/N9CLpeoCAy
— Maureen (@RaischStudios) November 29, 2014
Check out that Lost opening here.
We then see a new droid, rolling along on what appears to be the same desert planet. We will call him Ball Droid for now. He is incredibly cute and seems to be emitting R2-like beeps and bloops. Reportedly, this droid belongs to (or was created by) Daisy Ridley's character. We've heard that she's a scavenger of sorts.
In the background we see what appears to be abandoned engines. Could they be podracer engines? They certainly look like it. The green one on the left looks kind of like Gasgano's and the rusted one the right sort of looks like one owned by Ratts Tyerell. Neither is exact though, as Episode I was decades ago. If they are podracers, this could be more evidence that we are on Tatooine. The sport is also big on Malastare, however, which has deserts and lakes. We know that Episode 7 shot on locations with both sand and water.
The light flashes as we are now inside a ship filled with Stormtroopers. This is our first official look at the new streamlined modern-looking Stormtrooper helmet. Also, notice they're all different heights. Each one of these troopers is an individual. The third one from the right is noticeably shorter than the others — is that a visual nod to a specific idea from the original Star Wars?
One of the stormtroopers readies his blaster. It seems to be a more advanced form of the classic 'trooper weapon.
Here is a comparison between the Stormtrooper E-11 blaster from the original trilogy and the one seen in the Force Awakens trailer.
The door to the transport ship opens as a squad of Stormtroopers prepares to face the other side.
It almost looks like the dropship is over or looking out on water, but it may be just a trick of the light and some exhaust from the ship.
What's on the other side? We don't know. It is very dark although we do see some lights.
What are these details in the background, beyond the edge of the ship?
@slashfilm :36 looks like moisture evaporators w/lights on them, seen through the opening door. Door seems similar to imperial shuttle too.
— Mike Horn (@McNibbons) November 28, 2014
We see a woman (Daisy Ridley) looking back in fear as she starts the vehicle that she is seated on. This vehicle is new to the Star Wars canon.
Notice the long staff Daisy's character has attached to the vehicle. It has a hilt that has some of the same design qualities of a lightsaber. But it also could be some kind of Tusken Raider weapon with the huge attachment.
We see some close-ups of Daisy's face as she braces for her vehicle to take off. Her goggles quite a bit like those seen on a figure derived from a very early Ralph McQuarrie concept illustration. And her wrap is reminiscent of the design for a character in the video game The Force Unleashed. Making Star Wars notes that the goggle lenses are scavenged from a Stormtrooper helmet.
Cut to a wider shot where we see the whole vehicle — its a hover bike of some kind, a cross between Luke Skywalker's landspeeder and a speeder bike. It's massive. Its purpose must be to drag a big haul. Also note the mysterious staff is missing from the wide shot. Where did it go?
We see her ride into the distance. We can make out remnants of the first Star Wars set photos that were posted by TMZ.
We then see Oscar Issac as a rebel pilot. This is a big reveal because we now know that the rebels are still around fighting the forces of the galactic empire. It looks like the new X-Wing cockpit still has a targeting computer. Some point out that Issac looks a little beat up and bloody, with cuts on his face, below his helmet. Maybe he was roughed up or the look is just to show he is battled hardened.
And what is the writing on his vest? That looks like it might be a modified or new font. One Twitter user pointed out it might translate to "Pull to Inflate" from Aurebesh.
In the background, you can see water splashing and frothing around the engines and on the windows of the ship.
Here is a look at the X-Wing cockpits from the original trilogy.
The new X-Wings glide just feet over the water, sucking up the vapor. We've never seen them this close to the surface before.
Here is a video of an F-18 doing the same kind of maneuver.
The X-Wings glide over the water. One, possibly the one piloted by Isaac's character, pulls in front giving us a better look at the new X-Wing design in profile. Also note the X-Wings have blue stripes, instead of the green stripes in the original. It looks like the same ones from the second UNICEF video. And, as one reader noted, these fighters don't seem to have any astromech droids in the customary position. Maybe there's a new droid style, or the fighters have moved on to other tech?
Notice that the X-wings are each half a wing, which combine to form one wing on either side. The above illustration comes from starwars-union.de.
A villainous looking hooded figure walks through a snowy forest. Most are theorizing this is Adam Driver as the movements do sort of look like this. However, it could hypothetically be someone like Lupita Nyong'o. The character limps as he (or, potentially, she) walks through the trees.
The voice over comes back: "The dark side...and the light." There definitely seems to be an emphasis on "Dark side."
The character ignites a lightsaber.
The crossguard on the lightsaber also has beams coming out of it. The saber looks very different than the lightsabers we've seen thus far in the Star Wars films. It looks more like a flame or fire. This saber is angry. The cross-guard could be more of an exhaust system than a guard, we don't know.
@slashfilm The "lightsaber" seen seemed to be a prototype, almost like it's builder didn't know what he/she was doing ... 😳
— Andrew • beep/bop/boop • 🦕🦖🌴🌋 (@TheHoyt08) November 28, 2014
Then we see the first new shot of the Millennium Falcon, as the ship roars away from camera. This leads into a very dynamic shot in which the camera follows the Falcon as it twists and loops above the desert landscape.
This sequence is one we'll see in full IMAX resolution when the film opens in December 2015.
Below, you can see the new rectangular radar that replaces the old dish on the ship, which was broken off in the second assault on the rebuilt Death Star in Return of the Jedi. (As seen starting at about 6:11 in the video below.)
The contrails seen here are a nice touch, too.
A great shot of the Falcon silhouetted against a bright sky.
But this isn't just a fancy shot. It's a real evasive maneuver, as we see that the Falcon is tangling with a couple of TIE Fighters.
We don't actually see the Falcon fire back. So what's the story with this dogfight? Could this be early in the film, and result in John Boyega's TIE being shot down, leading to the scene we see at the beginning of the trailer?
As the TIEs pass, we get the title. The film's subtitle revolves into view after we get a shot of the classic title treatment. That original title fade in is one of the many visual callbacks to previous films in the series, but it is interesting to realize that we don't see any Original Trilogy actors. This trailer focuses on new characters and actors, and even the droid is new.
And the all-important release window.
As this fades, we hear a faint lightsaber powerdown sound effect at the very end.