STAR WARS

The film is dystopian and darker than Empire. Some 30-40 years have passed since Return of the Jedi, and the Empire and New Republic have been locked in a war of attrition. Everyone is languishing and sick of the war. The script, which is described as "too good for JJ Abrams", begins in space, above a desert planet -- presumably Tatooine.

The opening crawl details the ongoing turmoil in the galaxy. How the fall of the Emperor left a void of power, and how the heroes of Endor went into seclusion or kept fighting.

The current state of the war is described as being similar to the European theater of 1944, with the Empire being Germany and the Republic being the Allies. The Republic has finally taken the upper hand.

John Boyega and Daisy Ridley are the male and female leads.

Boyega is a force-sensitive Stormtrooper under command of Gwendoline Christie's character. He defects from the Empire over the course of the movie, ending up stranded on a desert planet (presumed to be Tatooine) during the first act. Having defied orders, Boyega is hunted as a deserter.

TIE fighter wreckage; possibly Boyega's: https://i.imgur.com/bhTMPuT.jpg

Gwendoline Christie portrays an Inquisitor. The Inquisitors are a group of lightsaber wielding individuals that may or may not be force sensitive and head up the Imperial Remnant. Inquisitors aren't Sith, but they are not Jedi either; they are hounds used to track down force sensitives, and they are implied to have assisted Vader's cleansing.

Christie's Inquisitor: https://i.imgur.com/JhrbuBy.jpg

Inquisitor's lightsaber: https://i.imgur.com/cKiSO9B.jpg

Daisy plays Kira, a character living on Tatooine with Max Von Sydow's character. Kira is a dusty survivalist tomboy. Sydow is a broken man from the prequel area that has become mostly cyborg. He is not force sensitive and for some reason collects artifacts that we've seen at critical points during the previous films, particularly ones relating to the Jedi and the Sith. Daisy shares his fascination with history, and she is revealed in Act II to be the daughter of Han and Leia. As someone with force sensitivity, she resents the fact that Luke went into exile before he could train her, and she hopes that the search for force-sensitive artifacts could lead her to him. She keeps her identity as a Solo under wraps in order to keep trouble away.

Sydow's character examining Vader's helmet: https://i.imgur.com/hjVHT65.jpg; https://i.imgur.com/HAzlSnK.jpg

Sydow's character with Kira: https://i.imgur.com/pInbshX.jpg

Sydow is a sort of mentor to Kira, and apparently his true identity is an Act III revelation that will surprise a lot of people. The contention is that he is an existing character from the prequel films, and the revelation of his identity will shock viewers.

Sydow's character is "not overtly" a villain, but has some sort of Sith connection.

Sydow's "hideout" is a downed AT-AT. Relics of the war are everywhere in the film; there is a real feeling that the entire galaxy is sick of the deadlock.

AT-AT: https://i.imgur.com/cm8eBZS.jpg; https://i.imgur.com/FIxykNK.jpg; https://i.imgur.com/LqlrmBZ.jpg

The blue lightsaber in the above picture is apparently the same one Luke lost on Bespin in Empire.

The ball droid from the trailer belongs to Kira.

On the desert planet (again, presumably Tatooine) Boyega meets up with Daisy and Sydow. At the end of the first act, Han Solo and Chewbacca take them all off planet in the Millennium Falcon. Shortly afterward, we learn that "Kira" is Han and Leia's daughter. Again, she keeps her identity secret to avoid unwanted trouble.

Kira's revelation dumbfounds Boyega and "other people."

Chewbacca's life debt extends to Han's whole family, and he is now sporting a robotic arm.

Chewbacca: https://i.imgur.com/7TGADrf.jpg

Han takes a liking to Boyega. Throughout the film he is in love with Boyega's decision to defy orders and ruin his career in the Imperial military. Han vouches for Boyega, having gone through something similar in his youth.

At some point, Han says the familiar "Hey, it's me!" line. Someone, of course, says the classic "I have a bad feeling about this." These are said to be the only self-referential "smile while rolling your eyes" lines of the film.

When asked whether Han dies, Spoiler Man replied that he will "not spoil the third act." This in and of itself does not reveal anything, but rather comes off as Spoiler Man being audacious, because answering the question is such a way would spoil the third act, if it were true.

Lando's Sullustan co-pilot from Return of the Jedi, Nien Nunb, makes a humorous appearance.

Lando is in the script and has apparently become famous.

Luke Skywalker has secluded himself from the galaxy, training only a handful of students since his exile. He fears for his future; as he comes closer to Yoda levels of power, he becomes more and more secluded. There are no Jedi in the open, but rumors persist that Luke has trained a few since the events of Endor.

Luke first appears in Act II à la Obi Wan dropping his hood in A New Hope. He survives the movie.

Boyega and Daisy become Luke's new apprentices.

Lupita Nyong'o is Luke's current apprentice, and Boyega's eventual love interest.

Luke exiled himself because of the ongoing war. With the galaxy in chaos, he had to ensure his safety so that a new generation could be trained. At least, that's his contention; the fact that he continues to exclude himself despite his great power indicates ulterior motive.

Luke's rumored location: https://i.imgur.com/N4iJjMm.jpg

Only Han and Leia know where Luke is, a fact we learn aboard a Mon Cal cruiser in the film's second act.

Luke has grown to dislike using his lightsaber, but apparently draws it late in the movie and showcases his abilities against an Inquisitor. It's still green.

Luke speaks to Yoda's force ghost in the film.

Luke has a reveal in the film which, apparently, is stunning.

Leia is the leader of the New Republic. R2D2 and C3PO are with her during the film.

R2D2 and C3PO are the only comic relief characters in the film.

Carrie Fischer's real life daughter, Billie Lourd, plays Leia in a flashback sequence. Darth Vader appears in this flashback as well, which apparently takes place on Endor.

Yavin is in the film, presumably as the Republic's base of operations.

Presumably Yavin: https://i.imgur.com/dBHibXF.jpg; https://i.imgur.com/blKc7tO.jpg; https://i.imgur.com/tN2vpt3.jpg

The Republic is building a super weapon on a Scandanavian-esque cold and forsaken forest world. Its ultimate purpose is unknown.

The Han Solo archetype is split between Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson.

Isaac is an ace pilot with the last name "Darklighter" who's been fighting the Imperial forces for years now. He's a bit of a hot shot.

He inherits the Milennium Falcon and is implied to be Kira's eventual love interest.

Domhnall Gleeson plays a scoundrel of sorts.

Adam Driver's character is an ambitious, force-sensitive pilot who falls to the dark side.

He is described as having a transformation that "only begins" in Episode VII.

He builds his own lightsaber (the one we see in the trailer). It's referred to as a "junk" lightsaber, which is why it looks different from that which we are familiar with.

The decision to give his initial lightsaber a cross-guard was apparently made wholly by the art department.

The lightsaber battles are written by Kasdan to be minimalistic and powerful.

Driver wears a mask because half of his face is cyborg.

He goes looking for Andy Serkis' character on the aforementioned Scandanavian-esque forest world, as we see in the teaser.

Driver's character: http://imageserver.moviepilot.com/sithi ... height=960

Andy Serkis is some kind of alien Sith exempt from the Rule of Two. He is implied to have existed for a long time, be very powerful, and is the speaker in the teaser.

Serkis is implied to have trained or used Palpatine for some obscure purpose.

Adam Driver receives or builds a new lightsaber after meeting with Serkis.

The Sith are not aligned with the Empire.

Serkis' goals differ from Palpatine's.

Serkis does not play or replace Darth Plagueis.

99.9% of the EU is disregarded.

There's very much a sense of the old characters "passing the torch" to the newer characters.

John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Chewbacca, and the droids (presumably Sydow's character and Kira's ball droid) are the new "big 6". Adam Driver and Andy Serkis are Sith and Gwendoline Christie is an Imperial. Characters we still have no knowledge of are those played by Crystal Clarke, Pip Anderson, Christina Chong, Miltos Yerolemou, Greg Grunberg, and Warwick Davis.

The premise of the film is that the Force has become stronger and more potent. There is a great tremor in the Force early in the film; those familiar with the Force feel as if its fundamental nature has somehow changed, while previously oblivious Force-sensitive individuals suddenly realize that they have a gift. This creates a great dichotomy of where to go, because neither Luke nor the antagonists are ready for this new liberation of awareness.

Following the repression of the Empire and the Jedi purge, the Force is finally manifesting itself in more people who have the capacity to use it. In this context, it appears as if the Force wants to be used.

John Boyega, Luke Skywalker, and Daisy Ridley

Boyega is, for all intents and purposes, the “new Luke Skywalker” (with a touch of Han Solo thrown in). He realizes he’s Force-sensitive when he feels the aforementioned tremor.

Boyega is an orphan.

Boyega, Daisy, and Driver are all weak in terms of the Force throughout the film.

Luke has trained seven Jedi since Endor, two of whom surface in the third act. It is unknown whether Lupita Nyong’o’s character is included in this distinction.

In terms of character nature, Luke is like Yoda’s successor.

No mention is made of Luke having a child.

Palpatine is referenced a couple of times, particularly regarding his role and the decisions he made during Luke’s temptation and resistance in Return of the Jedi.

Luke went into seclusion following an event post-Endor that has caused him to become hesitant when using his power to its full extent. He’s not really hiding, but rather hoping to keep attention off of his activities.

People think Luke is a bit of a kook given his 20 year absence, but he is said to have a purpose and plan behind his decisions. He’s a bit of an urban legend by the time the film starts.

Luke has come to the conclusion that the Jedi are not meant to be an open, quasi-police force like they were in the prequels. He has a close connection to the living Force, and he believes balance must be maintained through a lack of interference in the mundane conflicts of the galaxy. Luke’s contention is that the Jedi, while still needing to promote peace, order, and harmony, cannot actively become servants for any government – including the Republic. Past events and the demise of the old order are said to have taught him that.

He is also said to be in contact with Obi Wan and Qui Gon in addition to Yoda.

Luke does not die, turn evil, or go crazy.

Daisy Ridley’s character, "Kira", has been raised incognito to both keep her safe from Inquisitors and from traitors within the Republic.

She inherits Luke’s original blue lightsaber in the first act of the film.

Luke’s lightsaber is said to be one of the things that sets the entire film into motion.

Han, Leia, Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson

Leia has been the Republic leader for some 30 years.

Han and Leia are married.

Han does not die in the film. With that being said, his death is apparently being planned for Episode VIII. I would remind you all, however, that his death was also planned for Episode VI.

The Falcon has been retrofitted by Solo and it is implied that he has had a couple of adventures these past 30 odd years, with and without Leia.

The X-Wings in the trailer are on Yavin.

There are Blue, Red, and Gold fighter squadrons in the film.

Oscar Isaac’s character, "Darklighter", is stationed on Yavin. He is the leader of Blue Squadron.

Han calls Isaac’s character “kid”, much to his annoyance.

Domhnall Gleeson’s character is an Imperial officer who joins the Republic. He is described as a “wingman” that joins the core cadre of good guys.

Adam Driver, Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow, and Boba Fett

Adam Driver’s character is the leader of Red Squadron. He is a hot shot with dreams of grandeur, and has an ominous fascination with power and the Sith. He collects items relating to their order and has a close relationship with a past character who may or may not have fallen to the Dark Side.

The hilt on the lightsaber he builds (the one from the trailer) is said to not function as a crossguard.

Driver is largely untrained in the Force as of Episode VII.

Andy Serkis’ species is one we have never seen before.

Serkis’ machinations and outlook are very different from Palpatine’s. He believes the Rule of Two is a foolish edict and considers Palpatine as having made a couple of mistakes.

We will learn who trained Serkis in the third act.

Serkis is described as “legit”, and a “worthy foe to [Luke]”.

Max Von Sydow’s character is not Boba Fett, Darth Maul, or Mace Windu.

While Sydow’s identity is a surprise, it’s not necessarily earth-shattering. It’s the sort of thing that hardcore fans would be excited about, but overly casual fans likely won’t realize the significance it. Sydow’s identity does have meaning, but you need to know the context.

Boba Fett does appear, albeit very briefly.

The Expanded Universe

While the EU is disregarded whenever it interferes with the story trying to be told, apparently a few elements from the Del Rey / Bantam books have become legitimate. For example, Boba Fett’s short story in Tales from Jabba’s Palace is assumed to be how he escaped.

No EU characters are used.

Darth Revan is not in the film, and the mask that Adam Driver’s character wears did not belong to him.

Planets

The Scandanavian esque planet is called Sullarn (as of the film's second draft), and it exists mostly in the film’s third act.

The planets visited in the film are Tatooine, Yavin, Coruscant, Sullarn, and a final fifth planet from the third act.

Tatooine is only seen in the first act (the Cantina and Garindan make appearances) and Coruscant is seen very briefly. Two parallel storylines converge on Sullarn, where the film’s climax takes place.

Sullarn is said to be like Taiga at its best, and the arctic at its worst.

General Information

There are many visual throwbacks to the prequel trilogy. A lot of conventional props, masks, and prosthetics will be used.

There is no kissing in the movie, no blood, no Benedict Cumberbatch, no Watto, and no black antagonists.

“I am your father” esque twists are trying to be saved/concocted for Episode VIII.

Rebels will have connections to Episode VII, particularly regarding the Inquisitors. Disney has dictated the deep and thorough implementation of the Inquisitors into the Rebels storyline.

There are three lightsaber battles in the film. Two of the three illustrate the vast skill gap between the combatants, and the third is “magnificent”, “heavy hitting”, and “original-trilogy styled”.

The Empire is said to become more of a secondary foe as the new trilogy progresses.

The film is apparently on par (quality wise) with Episode IV.

Spoiler Man claims to have seen the script and some raw footage/dailies. He has great respect for Kasdan.

He contends that everything he says will be “95% correct”, but also that Disney and Lucasfilm are actively leaking fake information to spin things different ways and throw people off. In February, the influx of information both true and false will result in apparent contradictions.

Ali Arikan is said to be one of the mouthpieces for the fake spins.

Spoiler Man’s last message is that we “don’t fall to the spin machine”.

Make of this what you will. Also bear in mind that Spoiler Man's contention that the trailer will release on May 1st has, as of December 2nd, been proven true. See the context links below for more info.

While Sydow’s identity is a surprise, it’s not necessarily earth-shattering. It’s the sort of thing that hardcore fans would be excited about, but overly casual fans likely won’t realize the significance it. Sydow’s identity does have meaning, but you need to know the context.

Uhm, vista l'età non più verde direi che potrebbe essere benissimo il nonno di Luke!!