The Force Awakens – Trailers and teasers
Update: Seeing as it's just a matter of days until you can take your seats for the first Star Wars film in more than a decade (or thirty-two years if you don't count those weird fan-fic prequels) Future's tech sites are going fully Force-powered in celebration.
As part of Star Wars Week there's a whole lot of re-branding going on, leading right up to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
T-3PO and techvadar will be representing the Light and Dark Side of the tech world respectively; from utopian technologies and building your own R2D2 to military drones and how to build a Death Star, we'll have it covered.
There's less than two weeks to go until the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens! Just a matter of days now really.
And we couldn't be any more excited unless we'd discovered our own latent Force powers.
We've been mercilessly teased for the last year, since the very first few seconds of footage dropped on an excited interweb, but we've finally got official trailers and new TV spots, full of all kinds of glorious Star Wars-y goodness.
You've probably already watched them a good few times. We have – at least half of the 67-odd million views of the official trailer were from Techradar Towers – but, here they are because you really can't get too much of a good thing.
The official trailerYouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE
If that didn't get you excited for the new Star Wars trilogy then you've either got Bantha milk for blood or the stoney heart of a Gundark.
Pre-order tickets for Star Wars: The Force Awakens went on sale the same day the first trailer dropped and Fandango – a popular US service for movie ticket purchases – almost immediately crashed due to demand. In the UK though the Odeon Cinema ticket site actually did crash, the Force not quite being strong enough with its servers.
Our favourite moments from the new trailer. All the Star Wars movie's trailers rated and ranked.
A brand new trailer for The Force Awakens has also surfaced – an international cut which includes a bunch of previously unseen footage. Almost the whole gang get a look in this time – Finn, Rey, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and Han Solo – but still no Luke Skywalker. Check it out below.
YouTube : www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdAUiyeJMFQWhen's it out?
It's going to be one hell of a festive period for Star Wars fans and those in the UK will get The Force Awakens on the same day as the Australians, a day ahead of the North American unveiling.
UK and Australia – December 17
North America – December 18
The official poster
Along with a full Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer Lucasfilm has also revealed the official poster. It's rocking the classic Star Wars poster aesthetic.
On the poster you can find Kylo Ren, Poe Dameron, Rey, Finn, the loveable BB-8, Captain Phasma, and Maz Kanataand, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO.
And is that a small moon in the background? That's no moon…
Strangely enough, Luke Skywalker appears to be missing, as he is from the trailer, but we'll put that down to JJ Abrams' usual 'Mystery Box' shenanigans.
It's a strong image, putting Daisy Ridley's dynamic character, Rey, front and centre. She's also the subject of AMC's special edition poster prints, designed by British illustrator Dan Mumford.
Every Sunday, between release and January 10 2016 you can pick up one of the special posters at an IMAX 3D showing.
The first teaser trailerYouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erLk59H86ww
The first teaser tipped up almost a year ago now, and was our first glimpse at what director, J J Abrams, had envisioned for his time at the helm of one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises since…well…Star Trek.
It also showed us our first glimpses of our new heroes, former Stormtrooper Finn and salvager/junk-collector Rey. As well as the new bot, BB-8, which could end up being a rather polarising piece of cutesy electronics. Almost as polarising as Kylo Ren's lightsaber guards…
But we got to see X-Wings and TIE fighters, but most importantly the Millennium Falcon accompanied by that stirring John Williams score.
The second teaser trailerYouTube : www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngElkyQ6Rhs
The second teaser was shown during the opening panel at Anaheim, giving us our best look yet at the movie.
The opening shot sets the scene perfectly, panning across a deserted landscape to see a crashed X-Wing buried in the sand. Then the mountain in the distance resolves and you see it's actually a downed Star Destroyer.
Chills? Hells yeah.
We also got a voice-over from Luke, all mysterious and echoing a speech from Return of the Jedi, and we also got to see Han and Chewbacca together again.
Streamed to 35 theaters across 23 countries, including London's historic Empire Leicester Square and five other IMAX locations, the opening event saw Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and other members of the cast reunited on stage.
The international teaserYouTube : www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-VTdsCKLgg
Popping up on the Korean YouTube channel came a re-jigged teaser featuring much of the footage we'd already seen in a different order, but with our first view of the scale of the First Order.
The TV spotYouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7bh-H9ZfLQ
What you're looking for in this trailer is the new weapon that the Stormtrooper is holding. Apparently, Abrams says this will be a counter-lightsaber that select imperial troopers will wield against Luke and Finn. In an interview Abrams also said to expect a superweapon on the size and scale of the Death Star, hopefully constructed without a small exhaust port that leads to the central reactor.
'Imperial March' TV spot
For Thanksgiving, Lucasfilm released yet another TV spot, this one focused on the assembling of the First Order. We get a bit more footage of Kylo Ren among a few other tasty shots. Check it out…
YouTube : www.youtube.com/watch?v=thnijOugY10Behind the scenes teaserYouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTNJ51ghzdY
A behind-the-scenes clip that shows the making of Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered at San Diego Comic-Con 2015. The almost-four-minute long reel is a treat for any Star Wars fan.
There are elaborate sets and costumes, explosions, snippets with the actors, and shots of Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford as Leia and Han.
Mark Hamill and Simon Pegg chat about the film, too, and there's ample footage of director JJ Abrams and crew on set.
That's your lot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens video goodness, so now it's a countdown to December 17.
But if you can't wait you can get all Star Wars-y now yourself by jumping into the entertaining, blaster-filled romp that is Star Wars Battlefront. You can check out what we thought here.
And to fulfil those Star Wars fantasies in toy-form you'll be well-served this Christmas too, just look at the awesome new Millenium Falcon LEGO set, complete with greying Han Solo and the free-roaming Sphero BB-8 toy.
Until then, our friends at Creative Bloq have produced an amazing Art of Film: Star Wars special which you can grab from the link.
So, are we allowed to get unbelievably excited now?
The first three Star Wars films – A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi – are legendary, but Lucas' prequel trilogy – The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith – suffered from the hype and burden of expectation.
But that's the past. The future of Star Wars is looking brighter after wonderful opening trailers and high hopes that selling the franchise to film giants Disney will rejuvenate it for a new generation.
The Force Awakens – Cast, crew, plot and rumours
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is (duh) the seventh Star Wars film, but the first that has been made since the purchase of Star Wars by Disney. The movie will though still come from Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy.
The Force Awakens is directed by JJ Abrams, the man who helmed the Star Trek reboot as well as classic TV shows Lost and Alias.
Scripting duties started with Michael Arndt, but moved on to Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams when Arndt departed. The other good news is that the music will once more be scored by legendary composer John Williams.
The story takes place approximately 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi – after the destruction of the two Death Stars bankrupted the galaxy – and will feature the stars of the 'middle' trilogy, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia Organa). Also on board from the original trilogy are Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew – reprising the roles of R2D2, C3PO and Chewbacca respectively.
Our old school heroes are all there, but the two main protagonists of The Force Awakens are set to be Daisy Ridley's scrap-collector, Rey, and John Boyega's reformed Stormtrooper (and probable latent Jedi), Finn.
On the Dark Side of the Force is Girls' Adam Driver's Kylo Ren – the wannabe Vader with the divisive lightsaber – and Game of Thrones legend, Gwendoline Christie, as the super shiney Stormtrooper, Captain Phasma.
Also joining the cast are Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina, Inside Llewyn Davies), Domhall Gleeson (Ex Machina, About Time), Max von Sydow (Flash Gordon, Escape to Victory – obviously the Swedish thesp's finest works) – along with Andy Serkis (virtually every blockbuster with a CGI character).
The tech of Star Wars
Star Wars has traditionally been something of a trailblazer for technology within the movie industry and, somewhat inevitably, for the ways in which watch movies.
Lucas' huge faith in digital movie shooting and playback has been pretty divisive in recent years, but his teams have had a massive impact in the worlds of sound, effects and format.
With Abrams a huge and vocal proponent of film over digital, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be shot in a more traditional anamorphic 35mm (Kodak film stock 5129 apparently).
However, the film *will* be given the IMAX treatment, with a tweet from JJ Abrams' Bad Robot production company showing an IMAX camera being used. It remains to be seen for what portions and proportion of the film take advantage of this 70mm IMAX film – which is obviously capable of much higher resolution filming.
It's important to note that whatever is used to film the visual effects are not going to suffer. Abrams loves his blockbuster SFX and has ably demonstrated this on Star Trek, but he is also very keen to use models and full scale sets to bring that lived in feeling that permeates the original trilogy and owes such a debt to the classic sci-fi films.
The effects will be generated using Nvidia graphics cards – Quatro M6000 cards to be specific, so we'll be expecting some epic space battles.
Will we see 3D? Yes we darn well will. IMAX and Real 3D are both going to be used.
Finally, given that the Star Wars films have just arrived as digital downloads, you can expect to be able to buy the new film in digital, Blu-ray and, maybe, 4K Blu-ray as well.
And, although you (probably) won't see any drones in film, you might well see bits of the film filmed by drones. Apparently the flying camera rigs are causing a real issue for the Star Wars movie makers (at least according to Mark Hamill).
We love digging into the tech of Star Wars, so to get you in the mood here's 12 Star Wars facts you almost certainly should knowHere's an in depth discussion about Star Wars' move from film to digital and back to film – and what that means for our favourite filmsFinally – check out Total Film's Everything you need to know about Star Wars VII
Star Wars in Dolby Vision
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is coming to Dolby Cinemas, the audio developer announced, making the film the sixteenth film to receive Dolby Atmos sound mixing and Dolby Vision aesthetics in theaters. Here's a list of Dolby Cinema at AMC Prime locations where you can watch the film on December 17 and 18.
Facts about the plot (kind of spoilery)
So, thankfully, this is the shortest bit of this entire story. As you would expect, rumours are thick on the ground for a film this eagerly anticipated, but the actual honest-to-goodness facts around what will happen can only be culled from the official sources.
We know for a fact that Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, R2D2 and C3PO and Princess Leia will all feature in the film, and that it will be set approximately 30 years on from the events of Return of the Jedi, where the second Death Star was destroyed and the Emperor tossed into space by his protegee Darth Vader, also known as Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father and the protagonist of the prequels.
We know that John Boyega will play Finn – confirmed as a Stormtrooper who clearly has a rethink about his life choices – and that Daisy Ridley will play Rey, confirmed as a loner scavenger on the desert planet of planet Jakku.
There will be a character called Kylo Ren who will sport a lightsaber with a cool but slightly impractical cross guard and Poe Dameron (played by Isaac) as a rebel and, Isaac says "the best frickin' pilot in the galaxy."
As part of some cheery "May The 4th Be With You" festivities, Vanity Fair released a boatload of gorgeous shots by Annie Leibovitz from the set of the upcoming film, revealing some interesting set pieces and creature designs. But the biggest gem in the spoils was the photo of Adam Driver, who has now been confirmed as Kylo Ren, the central villain in this year's Star Wars flick.
Perhaps most thrillingly we also get to see the Millennium Falcon (amazing), X-Wings, Tie fighters and enough footage to suggest that the new trilogy will take its cues from episodes IV, V and VI rather than the later I, II and III.
Rumours about the plot (potentially apocryphal spoilers ahoy!)
The latest potential spoiler has come from the fingers of Han Solo himself, Mr. Harrison Ford. In a recent Twitter Q&A he was asked about his favourite action scene in the new film and replied:
"the sword fight between Rey and Kilo (sic) Ren. Fantastic visual storytelling."
With all the shots from the trailers and TV spots showing Finn as the one inexpertly wielding the lightsaber it's a surprise to read that it might actually be Daisy Ridley's character, Rey, who ends up channelling their inner Jedi.
Though maybe Ford is just confused or trolling…
The principal rumor revolves around the discovery of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber (and possibly his severed hand) sparking a journey to find the legendary Jedi Knight. The iconic weapon is discovered by a farmer and Poe Dameron is supposedly dispatched to collect it, but in doing so brings the bad guys with him.
Stormtrooper Finn will realise that he may not be on the side of good, and begin to resists against (potential Sith) Kylo Ren. Rumours have it that he is then locked up alongside Dameron and the two plot an escape.
Potentially the major arc will be around Luke, who is so powerful that he has gone into hiding where he can have a measure of control. Will he be good or will he follow in his father's footsteps?
The fact that Abrams has completely omitted Skywalker from the trailer and he is the only cast member to seemingly not feature on the official poster, could mean anything's possible.
There's also a cast list floating around that talks about flashbacks – so we can certainly expect to see a young Luke, we'd guess this could be showing how uncontrollable his force powers are. We also know that the venerable Max von Sydow will play a figure called The Vicar.
Other rumours have it that Rey is the daughter of Han and Leia (the tenuous link being that she uses the same DL-44 blaster as Han) and even more intriguingly that she is also the sister of Kylo Ren.
Wait, that would make him…
The saddest rumour though surrounds the death of Han Solo. Having begged Lucas to kill Han off in The Empire Strikes Back, it's not the most ridiculous notion. The rumour is that Luke and Han face off with Kylo Ren in the climactic finale of The Force Awakens, where Han tells Luke to spare Ren's life only for him to cut Han down.
So, we're all set to kick off with the first Star Wars movie in a decade, but the roller-coaster ride isn't stopping there…
Star Wars Episodes VIII, XI and Anthologies.Star Wars Episode VIII
Let's deal with the most obvious matter right away, after Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens there will be a Star Wars VIII. That's how Roman numerals and trilogies work.
Details are, as you would expect, thin on the ground but we do know the director is Rian Johnson, the man behind Looper, and that the expected Star Wars Episode 8 release date is May 26th 2017. Now, be aware that with any major project in the future these dates can, and almost certainly will, slip. You have been warned…
Star Wars Episode IX
After Abrams ruled himself out of directing the final movie in the new Star Wars trilogy it has emerged that Jurassic World director, Colin Trevorrow will now take charge. Inevitably there was a Twitter meltdown from some fans unhappy at the appointment, despite the commercial success of the latest dino-flick.
"Colin is someone I've been interested in working with ever since I saw Safety Not Guaranteed," said Lucasfilm CEO, Kathleen Kennedy. "The power of that film paired with the enormous success ofJurassic World speaks volumes about his abilities both as a storyteller and skilled filmmaker."
Rian Johnson though is expected to continue writing duties on the final instalment, after running things for Episode VIII, however it's likely he'll end up collaborating on it with Trevorrow as filming gets closer.
Episode IX is scheduled for a release in 2019 and we expect it to continue the trend of Summer releases the later movies have shifted towards.
Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One
If your favourite bit of Star Wars wasn't Luke or Anakin's journey, but actually the world itself, from bounty hunters to the lives of Rebel pilots, then Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm will be a massive boon for you.
That's because, in order to recoup the whopping price paid for this most wonderful universe, Disney is hugely keen to build out a quite of films that exist within it – and it's decided to call these non-core movies 'Star Wars Anthologies'.
The Anthology series will start with Rogue One, but will likely see a regular flow of new titles that dig deep into the rich world of the Star Wars Universe.
The film will be directed by Welsh director Gareth Edwards, who has proven his big budget chops with the marvelous-looking Godzilla remake.
The movie will star Felicity Jones – probably best known for Theory of Everything – as the lead and the plot revolves Rebel pilots and will happen in the period between Episode III and Episode IV, but given the main plot point, it's going to be closer in time to A New Hope than Revenge of the Sith.
The film surrounds the efforts of rebel troops trying to steal the Empire's plans for the original Death Star, y'know the plans that allowed Luke to bullseye an exhaust port no bigger than a womp rat…
Ben Mendelsohn is rumored to be playing the main bad guy and Riz Ahmed is also being linked.
There was a brief teaser shown at the Star Wars Celebration, with Edwards also taking to the stage to explain that "I couldn't sit in a cinema and know that someone else made this film."
It's also likely to be the first Star Wars film not to feature the Jedi. "The absence of the Jedi is omnipresent," Edwards said on stage. "It's about the fact that God's not coming to save us… we have to do this ourselves."
That said, according to Birth. Movies. Death. Darth Vader will be appearing in the film, though possibly only as hologramatic representation. There have been no rumours yet as to who might voice him.
The Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One release date has been set for December 16, 2016.
Star Wars Anthology II
We now have official news about the second of the Anthology movies, set for release in between the new trilogy films.
Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, of the Lego Movie fame, will be taking the helm on a project scripted by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan.
"The story focuses on how young Han Solo became the smuggler, thief, and scoundrel whom Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi first encountered in the cantina at Mos Eisley," says the Star Wars blog.
We had expected this to feature a Boba Fett origin story, but that could still tie in with a young Han story too.
The second anthology film isn't due until 2018, but we've now got an official release date shifting the movies back to the same summer schedule as with Episode VIII.
Anthology II will premiere on May 25, 2018.
Star Wars TV series
If all the movie action wasn't enough we're rumoured to be getting some proper live-action TV shows, helmed by Netflix.
Netflix and Disney have a good working relationship with all its Marvel offerings, which makes the streaming giant a great home for the Star Wars shows.
It is rumoured that there will potentially be three different TV shows, though no details have emerged as to what, when or who will feature in them.
The plan though is to film the TV series in between the various movie schedules to allow them to use the existing sets – so it shouldn't be too far removed from the current era, but will have that big-budget cinematic feel.
So. Much. Star Wars.
The rumour-mill has gone utterly silent on this one though, so there's a good chance it was so much Bantha dung. Netflix is in fact still negotiating on whether it's going to be able to have The Force Awakens on its books.
At the moment it's set up to have all the new Star Wars movies except the first one.
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Original source: Updated: Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailers, news and rumours.
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