The thing that impressed me about the reveals so far for Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens is how much care, love and reverence is immediately apparent. And how realistic everything seems to be. It is tactile. It is visceral.
It reminds me of 1977, when we all felt like we had been dropped in a real place...a far away place, but real. It didn't feel like sets. The characters didn't feel like actors. Chewbacca never felt like a man in a costume...he was a fully realized being. Artoo wasn't a prop...he was a relateable entity. The Galaxy that George Lucas built was home.
So, when JJ did the Omaze video on that wonderful desert set with the old alien carrying the packages of chicken-things...we were all (well most of us) back to a wretched hive of scum and villainy that we hadn't been to in a long time. A long time.
The video of the Millennium Falcon that slowly panned across the detailed ship further whetted our appetites. The fact that it transitioned seamlessly into a tight surprise of the Batmobile hidden on the underside demonstrated the level of care and detail the production team was striving for, but at the same time, they were filled with a sense of fun and wonder. There was a self-awareness that let us know that they knew how much we, the fans, were a part of this journey.
And it was a special treat for the earliest fans who remember the early documentaries which explained that the epic models used on the blue-screens to film those starships were as realistic and detailed as they were because they were pieced together from other existing models. Cars, ships, trains...anything and everything was fair game when the shape and feel was right for the realism in Star Wars. Including a model of the Batmobile on the underside of the Falcon hearkens back to those days.
So, when the first teaser was released on Black Friday 2014, millions of us watched 88 seconds of footage that took its time to build to a mighty crescendo. The dissolve to a bright desert planet instantly brought us back to a familiar welcome place. Similar to what Ford would say in the second teaser, we were home.
A deep, textured voice drew us in. "There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?" Who was this? Is he a good guy or bad? Limitless narrative possibilities began swirling in our heads as to where this new adventure might be heading.
And then like a jolt, a stranger burst into view. We we shocked by his sudden appearance. And instantly we were drawn to his story. First, we recognized the blaring horn blast which built tension as Luke stood before a vile, powerful crime lord hovering over certain death in the maw of the mighty Sarlacc Pit.
But then, we lept to the thoughts: Who was he? Why was this so scared? Was he a Stormtrooper on the run from the remnants of an evil galactic empire...or was he a hero in disguise like Han and Luke on the Death Star or something else entirely? A swirl of violins and rising music amped up the energy further. And the unmistakable sound of the Probe Droid nearby brought up the question...was this droid helping him find his prey...or was HE the prey?
But then, we lept to the thoughts: Who was he? Why was this so scared? Was he a Stormtrooper on the run from the remnants of an evil galactic empire...or was he a hero in disguise like Han and Luke on the Death Star or something else entirely? A swirl of violins and rising music amped up the energy further. And the unmistakable sound of the Probe Droid nearby brought up the question...was this droid helping him find his prey...or was HE the prey?
Then a flood of images washed over us. Nothing had changed, but everything changed. A droid raced across a frontier...instantly recognizable but new...filled with energy and determination. And like specters from the past, echoes of imperial Stormtroopers preparing to unleash fury and menace.
In the brightness of day, we saw a young woman racing towards adventure. But we also saw her speeder, an evolution of a landspeeder we met in '77 combined with a podracer we met in '99. The sound was loud, clear and vibrated like the real world would. X-Wings raced in a fully realized environment, a pilot with a look of passionate determination.
The Force was awakening. The Light Side. And the Dark. A black hooded figure tromped, heavily through a secluded, cold unforgiving wilderness. But this figure was ready to explode with rage...his red bladed weapon belching out fire, lightning and venom.
And then...like something out of a dream burst a ship we all knew with a powerful musical introduction that cemented us back in a place we had long remembered. The Millennium Falcon moved in ways that seem completely familiar, but in energetic and frenetic motions that were completely fresh and new.
As our pulses began to return to normal we heard familiar mechanical breathing and a familiar crack-hiss of an ancient weapon igniting. An elegant weapon from a more civilized time.
When months later, in April 2015, a Celebration began in a place called Anaheim, even more care and passion for detail was revealed. More images, sounds and music drew us slowly into the past (Vader's mangled mask), the present (Luke's mechanical hand placed tenderly and with a bond of true friendship on Artoo) with glimpses of the future (Leia's journey in The Force since we last saw her) and references to the next generation taking their place in the ongoing adventure.
You have that power to. A line spoken to a beloved character in 1983... reverberated still to an unknown character in 2015. But theses words...
you have that power, too...
were also directed at the audience. It was a recognition to the fans that they are a part of this journey, too, and always have been.
Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future... the past. Old friends long gone.
We saw images of conflict... danger... trepidation. But we saw images of growing bonds of connections. And we saw sheer joy of adventure. And we returned to home.
The behind-the-scenes footage from San Diego harkened back to pulling back the veil on a magic show that we were to welcomed to from the very beginning in the 70s.
The care, dedication and determination for perfection came through throughout the glimpses of the creative team who picked up the torch to share the oldest story in the world. The monomyth. The Hero's Journey.
A reverence for the material and a recognition of the joy and whimsy of returning to this sandbox was clear with each frame. The sparkle in the eye of the perky young woman in the Power Droid...the Gonk Droid costume was infectious. A carpenter who says, "I come to work every day smiling." The look in the eyes of old friends...Hamill, Fisher, Daniels, Davies, Mayhew, Ford. Guiding compasses...Kennedy, Kasdan. The excitement in the faces of the next generation...Abrams, Boyega, Ridley, Issacs.
All of this and more fills me with hope.
I find I'm so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a geek can feel. A geek at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it to opening night. I hope to see my old friends long gone. I hope that Episode VII is as fantastic as it has been in my dreams.
I hope.
