The moment that Star Wars fans have been waiting years for arrived last Friday. Since the announcement of a third Star Wars trilogy after LucasFilm’s sale to Disney in 2012, Star Wars fans have been hotly anticipating Episode VII.

Now, some thirteen months away from the film’s scheduled release, Disney is ramping up the already massive hype train for Episode VII with the first teaser trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.

I don’t want to break this down frame-by-frame but we have a pile of cool things in this trailer to get everyone excited.

The opening with John Boyega in stormtrooper armor on Tattooine is a great way to bring people back to Episode IV since Tattooine and stormtroopers were a key focus in the first-third of that movie. The introduction of Daisy Ridley’s character had a completely different tone. Something a bit closer to the prequels with a mysterious character on a speeder. She resembles a bit of a bounty hunter in my opinion.

We also get a look at some new Rebellion and Empire tech. Well, depending on the new continuity, it’s probably properly called the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant. The Republic is running new X-Wings and flight gear while the Remnant has upgraded the armor and firepower of their stormtroopers.

Not debuting new tech is the dark side of the Force. Not many people are fans of the new lightsaber design but I think it’s cool. The very shoddy look of the blade shows some character as it’s clearly not the vintage perfectionist design one would associate with a properly trained Jedi or Sith. The guards added to the hilt make for a sensible defense addition to the saber. They just might get some work on offense too.

Most importantly, the look of the new trilogy looks a lot closer to matching the original trilogy’s old, lived in feel. There isn’t much that looks shiny and new unlike the prequels. Also on the plus side, John Williams is back. I’m not sure that you could replace him, though a few video game composers have done a good job of getting close.

So is everyone else sufficiently hyped for Episode VII? I think I’m going to find the next 13 months a bit long.

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