This coming December, Christmas isn’t going to be the only beloved tradition celebrated by millions of people. On December 18th, Star Wars The Force Awakens will be released in theaters. A couple of weeks ago, fans crashed several websites in their attempts to get advance tickets. According to Deadline, The Force Awakens’ presale has already grossed $6.5 million. This figure shattered Imax’s presale records of The Avengers, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and The Dark Knight Rises (all of which raised around $1 million in presales each). Ever since the film was revealed around this time last year, fans have held their breath in both excitement and apprehension. For me, it’s a mix of the two.
Now I have to admit, I’m a bit of a Star Wars nerd. Growing up, I didn’t watch a lot of cartoons and never got into Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, but I became absolutely obsessed with anything and everything Star Wars. Like the responsible parent he is, my father made sure that my brother and I watched the original trilogy first. Moving on to the prequel trilogy, we were young enough to not notice the overreliance on CGI, pathetic excuse for storytelling, and Hayden Christensen’s acting. When I look back now, and realize how disappointing those movies were, I still long for the pure euphoria they brought me as a child. My love of Star Wars wasn’t limited to just the movies either. Some of the first and best video games I ever played were Star Wars games. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, and Star Wars Battlefront (of which they are releasing a new addition next week) were just important to me as the movies. In these games, I was able to make my own memories in the Star Wars universe. These experiences were as personal as the ones I had with my brother, running around our backyard with plastic lightsabers and blankets as capes. My point is, for me and millions of others, Star Wars is much more than just a movie franchise.
So when The Force Awakens was announced, my immediate, overwhelming sense of excitement dwindled into crippling doubt. I mean, I remember the trailers for Revenge of the Sith being really good as well. And although it was the best of the prequels in my opinion, Revenge of the Sith still was, well, one of the prequels. I probably would’ve been fine with a film taking place between Episode III and IV, since that’s a pretty wide and unexplored span of time. But after Return of the Jedi? And 30+ years after it was filmed? I was shocked to find out Carrie Fisher was still alive. I love Harrison Ford, but I thought Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull proved he might be getting too old for his action-oriented roles, Han Solo included. And there’s the fact that George Lucas isn’t directing The Force Awakens, which I’m actually fine with. After becoming disillusioned with the prequels, and the direction he took those films, I think it’s time for a new perspective. I was initially skeptical of J.J. Abrams stepping into the director’s chair, however. I mean come on, directing both the Star Trek and Star Wars reboots? And his overuse of lens flares? However, Abrams seems like a stand up guy who knows how important Star Wars is to its fans. For example, Daniel Fleetwood, a terminally ill Star Wars fans, shared his wish online to see The Force Awakens before he passed (which will most likely be before the movie’s official release). Fleetwood, thanks to Abrams, had his wish granted and was shown the film in his home. Personally, I think that’s what Star Wars is all about. Realizing that for some people, it isn’t just a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
