May the 4th Awaken Within You...

I have lived on this earth for close to 30 years now, and I remember every Thanksgiving

watching the original Star Wars films, and always looking forward to it. I was always so excited every year for those times to come, because the feeling of watching an entertaining piece of cinema with my family and friends that spoke of bond and overcoming the odds -no matter how big. When I was 14, I saw the first trailer for Phantom Menace, and I remember thinking, “What is this going to be about?” Then someone explained to me the mythology, story and drama of the Star Wars franchise.

See when I was young, and watched the original three films with my family and friends on Thanksgiving, I didn’t have the appreciation that I do now. It’s been almost 17 years since I saw Phantom Menace, and ever since they confirmed that another Star Wars film was being made three years ago, I often wondered how they would display, execute and entice people with the new trailer. Even though Star Wars name alone is enough to entice people, how would they do it this time, now that George Lucas is not in the director chair?...

When the teaser trailer came out in November, I honestly wasn’t too impressed, but when the new trailer came out unexpectedly a couple weeks ago, I literally got goose bumps. When I heard Luke’s voice say ‘the Force is strong in my family…’ then it started cutting to all these new characters, worlds, and scenes that brought about more questions than I know I have the time to answer. For one, who is Rey, is she the daughter of Leia and Han? Where is Adam Driver in all of this; is he related to any of the original characters? And the one, who I think has been kind of forgotten about, Domhnall Gleeson. Who I think, has a roll that will have something to do with Luke, maybe even be his son? So many questions, like- who is the man standing in the background in front of all the Storm Troopers at what looks to be a pep rally for the imperial forces? Could it be the master of the Kylo Ren?

The truth is, all of these questions have arisen long before the trailer came out. Now, more than ever, the hype and speculation has hit hyper speed… I think JJ Abrams is a smart film maker, who will bring the franchise back from the mistakes of Jar Jar Binks, and restore the bad ass-ness of a franchise that has revolutionized an industry and captivated generations of fan.

All I know is that if JJ ties in Emperor Palpatine or Darth Vader into the new Sith lord, then I for sure will be one who is excited like a little kid on Christmas morning. In the end though, more than anything else, what matters is that a new generation of fans have the chance to see a franchise reborn and given a second chance after failing with the prequels.