By the will of the Force, a whole decade has passed by since the first installment of Disney’s Sequel Trilogy released. Where have the times gone…?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens released back on December 18, 2015. In fact, ever since Disney completed the purchase of Lucasfilm back in 2012, you could say that 2015 was an entire year of hype… hype for the first live action Star Wars movie since 2005’s Revenge of the Sith and over seven years after The Clone Wars animated spin-off. As a quick recap, The Force Awakens is set many years after 1983’s Return of the Jedi. In place of the defeated Galactic Empire, a new superpower known as The First Order aims to wreck havoc across the galaxy, and a new cast of characters (along with a few returning icons) gather to take on the new superpower.
Today, The Force Awakens sits at a 7.7 score on IMDb. However, even a decade ago the first chapter in the Sequel Trilogy was also criticized for being an overall nostalgia bait that arguably played it a bit too safe in order to bring live action Star Wars back to the big screen, particularly with its similarities to A New Hope. While the seventh movie in the saga had lots of excitement going into the Holiday 2015 season, it’s been a topic of fan debate whether the movie still stands 10 years later or if it was actually never very good to begin with, even back during the theatrical release. As an example, Star Wars YouTube channel Star Wars Explained shared his thoughts on looking back at TFA a decade later, now with the context of how the Disney Sequel Trilogy has progressed in the years since Episode 7’s release:
In a galaxy far, far away…
Regardless of however you believe TFA has aged, there’s still some nostalgia to be had over the hype itself. The first teaser trailer was released back in November 2014, which can be remembered for introducing John Boyega’s FN-2187 (AKA Finn) as a black stormtrooper from under the helmet, LOTR actor Andy Serkis as the narrating voice of the movie’s mysterious villain, and a new leading spherical droid as well as a hooded figure shocking audiences with the debut of his cross guard lightsaber. Flash forward to Summer 2015, the movie’s second trailer released, and Guinness World Records reported on the trailer becoming YouTube’s most viewed movie trailer within a 24 hour span.
The final trailer was released in October 2015, which took an even deeper ultimate look into the new and returning characters, and the conflict arriving to theaters that’s around the corner. Personally, one of the most memorable aspects of the final trailer is easily the music. From the first notes of the piano to a rendition of the iconic Binary Sunset theme. Since the film’s theatrical release, TFA earned over $2 billion worldwide on a $245 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. As of December 17, Box Office Mojo also has TFA being the sixith highest grossing movie of all time.
May the Force (Awakens) be with you…
For anyone wondering where the Disney era of Star Wars has gone since TFA jumpstarted the Sequel Trilogy, here’s a bit of a rundown:
Rogue One became the first Star Wars anthology movie and will celebrate its respective 10th anniversary next year on December 16. TFA’s sequel — The Last Jedi hit theaters in December 2017 and became a hotly divisive installment. Solo: A Star Wars Story broke the Disney era’s December Star Wars releases by hitting theaters in Spring 2018 but ultimately flopped financially (via Vanity Fair). Star Wars will reach six years without a theatrical installment on December 20 since the Sequel Trilogy concluded with The Rise of Skywalker.
Outside of the movies, a plethora of Star Wars content was released on both the TV screen and gaming from Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the two installments of the EA Battlefront reboots, the ongoing Star Wars Jedi gaming series, three seasons of the hit Disney Plus TV show The Mandalorian, and many more. Connecting to The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu aims to be Disney’s first theatrical Star Wars release since The Rise of Skywalker, ending the theatrical drought come May of next year.
As a final recap for The Force Awakens, the movie was directed by J. J Abrams and featured the new leading cast of Daisey Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, and Oscar Isaac as Resistance ace pilot Poe Dameron. Naturally, returning Star Wars icons included not only C-3PO and R2-D2 and Chewbacca, but also Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill as the Skywalker twins Luke and Leia (though Mark’s return was quite literally silent and last minute on screen).
