Everything We Know About Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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Few films in the history of cinema have been cloaked in secrecy the same way Star Wars: The Force Awakens has. This is one of the most anticipated movies ever and also one of the most guarded. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is roughly two months away from release and major characters still haven’t been revealed yet. And if the cast or filmmakers know anything, they aren’t spilling. Everyone has taken a very serious vow of silence.

But just because most things are locked inside a titanium-reinforced vault doesn’t mean that everything is. We know some things about Star Wars: The Force Awakens and we’re here to share them with you.

The Setting

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is notable for taking place after the original trilogy (unlike the prequels, which took place before). In fact, the same amount of time has passed between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens as has in real life (more than thirty years). Also we know a few of the locations where the action takes place: there’s the desert planet Jakku and the snowy Starkiller Base, where our villains are amassing something decidedly sinister.

The Cast

In keeping with the after-the-events-of-Return of the Jedi setting, the cast for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a potent mixture of returning cast members and new faces. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew will again portray their iconic characters from the original trilogy. Joining them for this epic adventure will be Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow and Gwendoline Christie. This cast is absolutely brilliant, and we love how some well-established character actors like Isaac and Nyong’o are sharing the screen with relative unknowns like Boyega and Ridley. It’s going to be a blast to watch.

(Some of) The Characters

So, yes, we know who is in the movie. But who are they playing? Well, we already know who the returning cast members will play. But as for the new folk, we know that Adam Driver will play the villainous Kylo Ren (not his actual name, since he’s part of a secret order called the Knights of Ren), Daisy Ridley will play Rey, a scavenger, while John Boyega plays Finn, a stormtrooper who has a change of heart, and Oscar Isaac is Poe Dameron, an X-wing pilot with the Resistance (this movie’s version of the Rebellion). Elsewhere, Domhnall Gleeson plays General Hux, a leading officer at the Starkiller base, Lupita Nyong’o is space pirate Maz Kanata (a completely motion capture character), while Andy Serkis plays Supreme Leader Snoke (who we haven’t seen yet in any of the trailers). Everyone else is a complete mystery. And let’s not forget that not all the characters are strictly performed. One of the breakout characters of the movie (so far) has been BB-8, the curious little spherical droid who is just about the cutest thing ever.

Who Is Making It

It’s not just the cast who is starry on Star Wars: The Force Awakens; the creative team assembled behind-the-scenes is equally impressive. And just like the cast, it’s a mixture of people who are familiar with the franchise and those who are brand new to it. Returning members of the crew include John Williams, who will once again provide the stirring original score, and Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote Star Wars: The Force Awakens and who performed the same duties on both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Industrial Light & Magic, the cutting-edge visual effects company that George Lucas founded to facilitate the production of the first Star Wars, again returns to add some wizardly movie magic. Of the new members of the team, J.J. Abrams, who brought fresh air into the Star Trek franchise, is serving as the film’s director, producer, and co-writer. (He’ll produce alongside Kathleen Kennedy and partner Bryan Burk. Toy Story 3 writer Michael Arndt also had a hand in the film’s story.) Other new members of the core creative team include cinematographer Dan Mindel and editors Mary Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon. See: just as starry.

The Story (Sort Of)

We actually don’t know any of the story, although the trailer promises lots of epic battles, light saber duels, and the kind of breathless adventure and heroism the series has been defined by. But recently producer Kathleen Kennedy said that it would concern the Skywalker family, so Luke and Leia will definitely factor heavily in this new tale.

What Comes Next

While we don’t know what will happen, story-wise, we at least know what’s coming next for the franchise as a whole. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first stand-alone film produced in the Star Wars universe, will be released on December 16, 2016. It concerns the rebel plot to steal the plans for the Death Star, a mission alluded to in the first Star Wars but never properly explored. Star Wars: Episode VIII (still untitled) follows on May 26, 2017, directed by the immensely talented filmmaker Rian Johnson, and on May 25, 2018, we get a Han Solo-centered film directed by The Lego Movie filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller (from a script by Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jon). In 2019 this new trilogy comes to a close with Episode IX, directed by Jurassic World helmer Colin Trevorrow. We know even less about these new movies, but we’re just as excited.

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