It’s been forever since anyone has heard anything remotely “Star Wars”, that is, until rumors of a new trilogy began to pop up all around the internet. Fans everywhere are thawing out from their carbonite hibernation to glimpse the first ever trailer for “Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens.”
The 75 second short doesn’t show much insight into the storyline, but rather showcases that with a new team, “Star Wars” has a real chance of taking off again. The trailer consists of multiple mini-cutscenes, which promptly cuts to black in a dramatic fashion. It took several viewings before I realized
what a masterful job this trailer does at reintroducing us to that galaxy far far away.
I was very skeptical at first, since Disney is now in charge of the whole thing, after recently buying Lucasarts andmarvel studios. I have nothing against Disney. The studio has made plenty of masterpieces in their day, but they have a tendency to put a lighter spin on everything they touch in order to make it more kid-friendly. This could be a huge problem, especially for the Star Wars universe, which revolves around death, passion, good and evil, and, of course, war. These things don’t typically scream “disney.”
“Star Wars: the Clone Wars” was a success ful animated series that was canned at the start of Disney’s ascendance. I It was dark, gritty and violent, but it maintained the Star Wars vibe through and through.
Disney unveiled their new animated series: “Star Wars Rebels” last year, which had a very noticeable aesthetic difference. The characters looked softer, brighter, and altogether more kid-friendly.
My greatest fear is that Disney will forsake the nostalgia of “Star Wars” in exchange for a cheesy popcorn fdesigned for a generation of wide-eyed children who never appreciated the original trilogy.
However, after watching the trailer, I can thankfully say that all fears are blown away. This trailer reminded me of why I love Star Wars. It is full of references to the previous movies, featuring classic bits of technology fans all know and love, such as R2D2, speeders and of course: the Millenium Falcon. There is a definite change in atmosphere as JJ Abrams’ style makes itself known. It seems to be darker and grittier.
Only time will tell whether Disney can pull off this miracle, for creating a whole new trilogy to one of the most iconic universes is about as risky a move as one can make, but I now have confidence they will deliver.
