Ten years after the most recent episode in the infamous saga was released, the story continues with a future trilogy. Episode VII of the saga, "The Force Awakens," will be showing in theaters on December 18. The three biggest names from the saga return to the big screen to begin the new trilogy: Harrison Ford, acting as Han Solo, Mark Hamill, portraying Luke Skywalker, and Carrie Fisher, playing Princess Leia.
The new story begins about thirty years after the final movie, "Return of the Jedi," which was released in 1983. The movie was shot in areas of Iceland, England, Ireland, and at a military base near Pinewood Studios. These areas allow this movie to resemble the previous settings that were used in the older films. The budget for this movie was $200 million and is projected to earn about $540 million on opening day. If this projection is correct, this will be the record for the most money raised for a film in the world -- currently holding this position is "Jurassic World," which was released earlier this year.
Here are some simple and short summaries about the previous Star Wars movies, in order to prepare you for what is to come:
- "Episode I: A Phantom Menace" -- Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) is a Jedi master with a new apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). Many battles and different events occur that result in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s success in the film. At the end, Obi-Wan Kenobi is appointed as a Jedi Knight and is asked to have Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) become his new apprentice, thus setting up the background for the upcoming movies.
- "Episode II: Attack of the Clones" -- A threat emerges that places Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) under the protection of Obi-Wan Kenobi and young Anakin Skywalker. Unfortunately, these three players get separated, leading to many lightsaber battles and injuries to some. The rise of the Sith Lord begins to unfold as well, foreshadowing some plans for the future. Oh, and a marriage comes about at the end, but between whom?
- "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" -- The most recent episode in the saga, begins with the same bad guys as in "Episode II." Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi have become the ultimate team, leading to a possible rank promotion into the Jedi Council. Although, the Jedi Council is not as safe or confidential as some would like to believe. Anakin becomes troubled with some premonitions of someone close to him dying through child-birth and in order to stop them from occurring, makes some interesting decisions. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda are not around to stop these questionable decisions from being made, resulting is some lightsaber battling. The silver-lining is that two new beings are brought into the world, not knowing how important they are to the galaxy.
- "Episode IV: A New Hope" -- Being the oldest episode in the series, new characters and some older ones keep the saga alive. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) meets the infamous Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and learns the power of the force. These two band together to rescue Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) with the help of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew). Some galactic fighting occurs, resulting in the reward of medals to some lucky gentlemen.
- "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" -- Three years after the previous episode, Luke Skywalker learns more about his family and his past through a one-on-one teaching session with Yoda. Han Solo and Princess Leia prove to be in trouble awaiting the return of Luke, but is thwarted when Luke hears some horrid information from Darth Vadar (David Prowse), the leader of the bad guys. With more lightsaber battles, Princess Leia and Luke are forced to wait to hear about what they should do next to save the galaxy and their friends.
- "Episode VI: Return of the Jedi" -- This movie begins with Han Solo in some trouble. Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker come to his aid while also learning some information about themselves. Luke is given a destiny he must follow in order for peace to be restored. Some of the best fighting occurs between Darth Vadar and Luke and between good and evil, resulting in a captivating ending to the saga. Until now.
Hopefully these summaries prepare you for the next episode in the saga and for your Star Wars marathons leading up to December 18.
