2015 saw the Star Wars universe return to its roots under the direction of director J.J. Abrams in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.
Audiences throughout the world were enthralled by the return of their beloved characters from the original trilogy, including Chewbacca, Princess Leia, C3PO, R2D2, and Han Solo, as well as Luke Skywalker, but that same token, others thought that the movie was much too derivative and was a bit of a letdown.
The new protagonist is a young girl by the name of Rey (played by Daisy Ridley), who rescues a droid by the name of BB-8, who has some top secret information as to the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill, in a cameo role). She meets up with Finn (played by John Boyega), who’s had it up to here being a stormtrooper and goes AWOL on the First Order, and together, they work together to return BB-8 to the Resistance.
With the First Order hot on their heels, they make a break for it in the Millennium Falcon. Finally, the inevitable happens: Han Solo, along with Chewbacca, show up. They want the Falcon back, but Rey won’t be swayed in her quest to return the BB unit.
Meanwhile, the First Order is up to no good, and have built the mother of all Death Stars which harnesses the power of the sun to obliterate entire solar systems, and it’s up to Rey, Finn, Han, and Chewbacca to thwart their efforts, or it’s curtains for the rebellion and General Leia. What makes things even more complicated is that Han and Leia have a son, a hipster version of Darth Vader prone to temper tantrums, and it’s up to Han to try and talk Kylo Ren out of sticking with the First Order and to go into Dark Side rehab. Let’s just say that the father and son talk doesn’t go particularly well, and it’s all hands on deck to stop the First Order.
The combination of new and old characters works particularly well. Ridley and Boyega work very well together, as well as Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron, a hotshot pilot for the Rebellion. Their chemistry bodes well for future installments, and having Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill on board for future installments provides continuity that will ensure continued success for the franchise.