In a galaxy not so far, far away, millions of life forms await the release of the much-anticipated Star Wars film, which will be the first of a new sequel trilogy set.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” is scheduled to come out on Dec. 18 — an early Christmas present, no doubt, to the countless number of fervent fans who have grown up with the beloved saga and its characters.
“There’s something about when that opening theme comes on and the title crawl starts up the screen that’s really cathartic for people,” commented hardcore fan, Zach Pearson, a junior at LHS. “It gives people a dream — and that’s something beautiful.”
The recent release of a trailer has led to a firestorm of excitement. New faces, old lightsabers, and stunning visual material are scattered throughout the two minute and 35 second video. It’s really no surprise that the trailer has already accumulated over 47 millions views on YouTube.
Set approximately 30 years after the destruction of the second Death Star (true Star Wars fans would remember this event occurred in “Return of the Jedi,” a.k.a. the sixth one), the upcoming film will piece together the progress of the rebel cause against the lingering remnants of the Empire, as well as continue the story of everyone’s favorite droids, R2-D2 and C3-P0 (the only characters to have appeared in all the movies thus far). The new trilogy will introduce new characters, while also bringing back old faces that’ll serve to remind older fans just how old they are.
For starters, the man, the myth, the legend, Harrison Ford will once again grace every movie theater in America with his chill demeanor as captain of the Millennium Falcon (the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy), Han Solo. Alongside him will appear everyone’s favorite onomatopoeia-producing Wookie, Chewbacca, (Peter Mayhew) who manages to draw out an emotional element of a movie without ever uttering a word. And of course, cinnamon-bunned, gun-wielding, princess-of-somewhere-that-nobody-knows, Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer). Oh, and her brother Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), son of former heavy-breather, Darth Vader.
Although the old favorites are returning, the movie is directed by newcomer to the film franchise, J.J. Abrams, who also directed the most recent Star Trek movie. According to IMBd, the majority of the filming took place in several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, England and Ireland.
Regardless of country, to say that fans all around the world are anxiously awaiting for Dec. 18 is a complete understatement; most fans would willingly submit themselves to the dark side (cookies or not) in order to view the movie any sooner, but alas, such a feat would prove impossible to even Master Yoda. So that means Star Wars fans only have one option: keep re-watching the trailers, keep re-watching the existing movies, keep practicing force-choking the people you don’t like, and keep calm. Come Dec. 18, you’ll be glad you’ve had all this time to freshen up on your Star Wars knowledge.
In the words of a sage, green, elf-looking, saber-wielding, semantics-troller, jedi master, “To the midnight premiere, go you will. There the force you will find, and awaken you it shall.”
![For the final piece, a combination of Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble played an extravagant song by Paul Hindemist. Flute soloist Dakota Olson had her moment highlighted within this song. “[My solo] was definitely challenging but it was fun too,” Olson said.](https://www.lhsdoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/amy-and-joey-shot-1200x800.jpg)
