‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ Trailer Screencaps: What Can We Learn From the First ‘Force Awakens’ Footage?
We'll be breaking down the 'Star Wars: Episode 7' trailer sorta-live, with some commentary on what these 88 seconds actually mean. Who's that dude with the rad new lightsaber? Let's see what happens when we slow this 'Star Wars' trailer down and grab some HD screengrabs.
It's interesting to note that this trailer starts with no studio logos. No Disney and, even more surprising, no Lucasfilm. Maybe they wanted this trailer to surprise people in theaters? But, let's quickly jump to the end of the 'Star Wars' trailer.
We see this cloaked dude towards the very end of the trailer, trudging through the snow. An ominous voiceover exclaims, "The dark side...and the light," as said dude fires up his crazy new lightsaber with a hilt. Speculation is that this is Adam Driver's villainous character (he certainly has the red lightsaber to indicate he's aligned with the Sith), but we can't be sure. As you can see from this lightsaber, it's not as neat and polished as the ones we've seen previously. With the Sith pretty much eliminated, they'd have to learn to craft their own lightsabers. Hence, the hilt and the sort of static-y nature to the blade.
Is this villainous looking person the one delivering the voiceover? The only dialogue we hear is at the very beginning: "There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?" and at the very end: "The dark side...and the light." The two voices sound different. The one in the beginning curiously sounds a lot like Benedict Cumberbatch, who was rumored to be in the film, but as far as we know isn't actually part of the cast. Other possibilities include Adam Driver, Max von Sydow and Andy Serkis. Thoughts?
The trailer opens with a wide shot of the sand dunes (of Tatooine?) as John Boyega's character pops up from underneath, looking sweaty and panicked. He looks around at his surroundings, almost unsure of where he is. If you listen closely at the :24 mark, our own Mike Ryan pointed out that you can hear the sound of a probe droid in the background.
And, here's our other 'Star Wars: Episode 7' lead, Daisy Ridley. Lots of rumors that she's somehow related to both Han Solo and Princess Leia but, again, unconfirmed.
Ridley's character hopping on a new vehicle (that curiously looks like a double-sticked popsicle) and speeding off across the desert. In the shot previously, she looks nervously behind her as she fires up the vehicle. She's clearly running from something (or someone.)
Hey, it's the new Stormtrooper helmets officially revealed! This shot is followed by a very, very brief glimpse of Stormtroopers grabbing their guns and the cargo door of the ship they're traveling in opening up. Where did they land? Don't know it's all covered in smoke. Are they searching for Boyega, a Stormtrooper who's gone rogue?
Here's Oscar Isaac, as a Rebel Pilot, flying an X-wing. This, oddly, looks nothing like Oscar Isaac.
And, here's a shot of Isaac and his crew in flight with the S-foils in attack position. It's amazing how retro this looks. It's almost as if a Ralph McQuarrie concept art painting had come to life.
A new 'Star Wars: Episode 7' R2-series droid. There will be lots of toys of this guy. While we don't know his name, we have heard rumors that this is Daisy Ridley's droid. The scraps in the background (which match up to those in the background of Ridley's one scene) match up and would confirm that.
And, here, for the first time in 31 years in a 'Star Wars' movie is the Millennium Falcon. You'll notice a brand new rectangular satellite dish on the side. It's also to note that Disney released this image with IMAX in the filename, indicating that this chase scene will be one of the scenes director J.J. Abrams shot with IMAX cameras.