Before we get started, let it be known: there are spoilers here. Not just tiny, 'this person appears' spoilers: we're talking about huge moments and the very end of The Force Awakens. If you haven't seen the movie, bookmark this page, go watch it (twice) and come back — we don't want to spoil the movie for you.
Last warning: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.
Let's just get this out of the way: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens was amazing. Not only did it manage to bring Star Wars back into pop culture (in a good way), it did so while juggling an entirely new story and paying homage to the Original Trilogy.
Speaking of the story, The Force Awakens did a lot to establish itself as the beginning of something new. Yes, familiar faces are a big part of the movie, but overall, Episode VII will clearly tie into future episodes more than the classic movies. As such, audiences will notice that there are more than a few questions left unanswered by the time the credits roll. Out of everything that The Force Awakens leaves open, here are the questions that are burning a hole in our brains:
What Will Happen With Luke And Rey?
Let's start off with the most obvious: at the end of The Force Awakens, Rey manages to track down Luke Skywalker by using the map created by BB-8 and R2-D2. The obvious question is: what happens next?
Given Luke's previous history with training Jedi (more on that later), there's a good chance that he won't be all that excited to start training Rey. On the other hand, much of The Force Awakens was devoted to proving just how powerful and determined Rey is — it's easy to assume that, even if Luke declines, she won't be taking "no" for an answer.
At the end of the day, it's not necessarily about whether Luke will train Rey or not — it's how he goes about doing it.
What Happened To Rey's Family?
If there's one mystery we're dying to solve after seeing The Force Awakens, it's what happened between Luke and his new Jedi order. Kylo Ren is a fantastic villain, and there's one scene in particular that cements him as one of the most reviled baddies in cinema (you know which one we're talking about) — but how did he get there?
The movie, as with much of its backstory, glosses over quite a bit. Fans know that Luke was initially training Kylo Ren (real name Ben Solo) as a Jedi before the events of The Force Awakens, but the film never really explores why Kylo eventually turns on his master. How was he able to convince his fellow students that Luke was the enemy? How is the First Order and Supreme Leader Snoke involved in all of it?
As with Snoke himself, Kylo's betrayal and Luke's self-imposed exile are sure to be central to future episodes ... and we're dying to learn how it all went down.
The Force Awakens did a lot to re-introduce fans to the world of Star Wars, and the film does a great job of getting people up to speed with all of the new stuff. That being said, there are more than a few story threads left dangling by the time the credits roll — as of now, it looks like fans will just have to wait for Episode VIII to figure everything out.
For more on Star Wars: Episode VII, check out our Force Awakens coverage hub!
