Star Wars: The Force Awakens still cloaked in secrecy ahead of Irish opening
Cinemas across the country are gearing up for one of the biggest movies in recent years when the hugely anticipated seventh entry in the franchise hits the screens this Thursday.
Original stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford are on board as Luke Skywalker, General Leia — she’s no longer Princess Leia — and Han Solo respectively.
The film also welcomes back Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Kenny Baker as R2-D2, and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca.
Flying in the face of this information age, director and co-writer JJ Abrams has given very few plot details away.
But it is refreshing to watch trailer after trailer and remain pretty much in the dark.
1. The new generation. Actors Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron) are the new kids on the block.
2. Boo, hiss! for the villains. Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Andy Serkis (Supreme Lord Snoke), and Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux) portray the wrongdoers. And, ladies and gentlemen, be upstanding for the first major female villain in Star Wars — Gwendoline Christie of Game of Thrones fame plays Captain Phasma.
3. The story. The Force Awakens picks up 30 years after Return of the Jedi. As any fan knows, Luke had a final showdown with Darth Vader in that film. Han, Leia, and Lando Calrissian, portrayed by Billy Dee Williams, led the Rebels to victory as they blew up the Death Star.
4. There is a new planet called Jakku. Desert planet Jakku is where Finn, Rey, and BB-8 are introduced, according to the trailers.
5. The two sides have different names. The Empire is now The First Order, while the Rebel Alliance has become the Resistance.
6. The stormtroopers have had a makeover. As various promotional material has revealed, the helmet looks sleeker and less bulky. Backstory information says the rise of the First Order ushers in “the next chapter in the stormtrooper’s legacy”.
7. Rey was abandoned. Rey’s family left her on Jakku when she was five. She has no idea why, but the most popular theory is her suspected Skywalker-Solo parentage.
8. Everything about Luke Skywalker is a secret. New characters have been unveiled and trailers are online, but anything to do with Luke remains firmly under wraps.
9. John Boyega is playing a stormtrooper. He can do so because stormtroopers are only clones in the prequels.
10. Watching the alien. Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o plays Maz Kanata, an alien with eyes that hold mysterious depths.
11. The Millennium Falcon is the same as ever. Han and Chewie are seen piloting the Falcon in the trailer released in China. “C’mon, baby. Don’t let me down!” he cries.
12. New robot BB-8 will be a hit. If the trailers are anything to go by, BB-8 will banish painful memories of Jar Jar Binks. This new character is sure to become a favourite with children — and even many adults. He appears to have a mission of some sort, which feels like a nice homage to the original 1977 movie, A New Hope.
13. The Millennium Falcon crashes. Fans can see the Falcon crash into a snow bank in the new trailer released in China.
It has been a long time coming, but we will soon find out if this seventh entry lives up to the enormous hype.
