Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy kicked off this year's Star Wars Celebration with a bang. The convention's opening ceremony doubled as a panel for The Force Awakens, where cast members new and old took the stage to thank fans and spill more details about the upcoming film. We even got a brand new teaser trailer. Read on for all the biggest news to come out of Celebration's opening ceremony.
That's Not Tatooine You Saw In The Trailer
One of the first new things director J.J. Abrams told the audience and fans watching from home was that the desert planet featured in the film's first teaser trailer is not, in fact, Tatooine. It's a brand new planet called Jakku (or however you spell it) — a world riddled with the crashed remains of various spacecraft.
Character Insights
Costumes, people, costumes!!! #StarWarsCelebration #SWCA pic.twitter.com/DVe6oOTSvQ
— Rob @ Who Wars (@WhoWars) April 16, 2015
John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac all appeared on stage to speak more about the characters they play in the new film, and in the process, gave us some of our first impressions about The Force Awakens.
Boyega's character Finn (who can be seen in the first trailer wearing Stormtrooper armor) confirmed that he does start the film as soldier of the Empire but couldn't give any more away. Ridley's character Rey was revealed to be a parts-scavenger on Jakku who is swept up in the intergalactic adventure. And then there is Isaac's character Poe Dameron, whom we still know little about — other than Isaac's claim that he's one of the best X-Wing pilots in the galaxy.
New Stormtroopers, New Attitude
New Stormtroopers! #SWCA #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/wpNzvbCz9b — Rob @ Who Wars (@WhoWars) April 16, 2015
A parade of the new Stormtroopers from the film marched out on stage for all to see. It was an impressive sight. The armor is instantly recognizable, of course, but this set features a few key differences that makes them stand apart from the troopers seen in the original trilogy.
And Of Course, A New Trailer
We all knew it was coming. If you haven't watched it yet, check it out above. If you've already seen it, watch it again. There are tons of details to pick over in this trailer.
The opening shot of a crashed Star Destroyer on a desert planet perfectly fits Abrams' description of Jakku.
We get to hear Luke Skywalker himself speaking about the strength of the force that flows through the Skywalker family line, telling an unknown person that they "too have this power," and somebody hands off a lightsaber. Perhaps he is telling this to his child? Boyega's character can be seen out of his Stromtrooper armor for the first time and accepting the help of Ridley.
We also get quick flashes of a space battle, new Chrome Stormtroopers and masked villain Kylo Ren.
There is even a shot of a burnt, malformed Darth Vader mask on a pedestal. What does it all mean!? Also, how the heck did this get off the Death Star?
But the real kicker is the appearance of Han Solo himself at the end.
Whew. It's going to be an exciting weekend for Star Wars fans. Time to watch the trailer again.
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