The Star Wars hype machine has begun its work with the release of the second teaser trailer for Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Star Wars fans are hungry for new information on the film as the teaser has been viewed over 40 million times in nearly a week.
The teaser itself is a celebration of the history of the beloved franchise as well as a look forward into the new directions that the series is taking. For every bit of nostalgia in the trailer, there is something new to balance it out.
For every old character, such as R2-D2 and Han Solo, there are shots of actor John Boyega in his storm trooper outfit and of new planets ready to be explored.
The film’s director, J.J. Abrams, seems to be aiming for a nostalgia trip to try and entice older Star Wars fans to get excited about this new entry into the series. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher will be reprising their roles as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia respectively.
The trailer itself attempts to capitalize on the nostalgia Star Wars fans have with the inclusion of a voice over by Luke Skywalker. The standout scene that has taken the internet by storm is a short one in which Han Solo, with Chewbacca by his side, remarks, in a symbolic nod to the series, “Chewie, we’re home.”
The nostalgia trip is balanced out well with scenes used to remind fans why they fell in love with the series to begin with. That sense of adventure inherent to the Star Wars films is there.
This trailer establishes itself as being nostalgic for the old movies but also willing to set itself apart for the new generations of Star Wars fans. It does a good job of taking the old and making it new again.
There are explosions, storm troopers, Darth Vader’s helmet, and of course light sabers to recapture the imagination of longtime fans and hopefully gain some new ones in the process. From the opening shot until the closing title, it hits every note to get people excited for the movie perfectly.
A theatrical trailer is expected to premiere next week before the Avengers: Age of Ultron. Even with that release, fans of the Star Wars series will have to pick apart the trailers until Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives, with much fanfare, just in time for Christmas on December 18.
