5 Questions From the New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Poster

The new Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster is here, and it doesn’t disappoint. With (nearly) every character, a new vehicle/weapon of some kind, and some intriguing new elements, there’s a lot to talk about. Away we go.

A Boy and his Lightsaber

We’ve talked at length about Finn and the fact that he’s wielding the lightsaber that once belonged to Anakin Skywalker, and later to his son Luke. It sure seems to indicate that perhaps – perhaps – Finn is part of the Skywalker lineage.

The fact that this new poster so prominently shows Finn with that saber, just as the Drew Struzan D23 poster and the 15 second instagram teaser did, means it’s extremely important. It also may mean Finn gets the weapon much earlier in the film than many are expecting so far.

Is Teedo More Important Than We Thought?

It’s a laundry list of ultra-important characters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Han, Leia, Poe, Finn, Rey, Kylo, Threepio, Artoo, BB-8, Phasma… and Teedo the weird diminutive scavenger? (Note: Assuming that is in fact Teedo. Other theories include Maz Kanata or just… someone else!)

All we know about Teedo so far is that he’s another scavenger on Jakku, where we first meet Rey, and that he rides a Luggabeast, a half-animal, half-mechanical being. But being on this poster means he has to have some major moment of importance. You know, we still don’t know how Finn finds that lightsaber of his – maybe that’s Teedo’s role to play? Any way you slice it, he’s on this poster for a reason, and that reason is a mystery.

Luke’s Missing – and Others, Too!

Han has been on two posters (including the Struzan D23 one), Leia makes her way onto this one for the first time, with the loyal pair of droids as well, but there’s still no Luke Skywalker. So why? Well, the biggest reason is that they’re just trying to keep him a mystery. I know a lot of people suspected he’d be in the “Obi-Wan” mentor sort of role in this film, but he might be even further removed, more in a Yoda-style self-imposed exile than an Obi-Wan-style hermitage.

Other missing characters include General Hux and Supreme Leader Snoke – two high-ranking officials in the First Order that we really haven’t seen much (or any) of yet. Maybe they’ll be in the trailer, or maybe the First Order’s officers aren’t quite as important as are that chrome-armored trooper and lightsaber-wielding knight.

Will Rey Struggle with The Dark Side of the Force?

This is the second straight poster that Rey has been dead-center. Yes, that could mean she’s simply the central character to the story, the “Luke” or “Anakin” if you will. However, it also has her right between the dark side and the light of the Force. And if you’ll recall, Luke and Anakin’s stories spun around the fact that they were struggling with those two aspects, as well.

So it certainly seems that Rey will be the one embodying that struggle. But could she actually turn? The talking Kylo Ren toys seemed to be trying to recruit someone with some of his dialogue. If it’s Rey, and she actually falls to the Dark Side, it would certainly be a huge twist (especially with how much Daisy Ridley and John Boyega (Finn) have been promoting the film together). Either way, it sure looks like she’ll be in the midst of a power struggle.

Just look at the way Kylo Ren’s saber gleams off her staff and into her face. The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is.

Is That a New Death Star?

A giant… something is floating behind Finn. It looks to have some kind of giant beam that can emit from it, is shrouded in a shield (probably to stop any pesky X-wings from shooting torpedoes into any exhaust ports), and certainly looks like it’s at least the size of a moon.

So, is this the new Death Star? Nothing has even hinted at such a weapon in any promotional materials so far, and this is definitely the biggest (see what I did there?) thing on this poster. The other question is, if The First Order has such a weapon, what are they doing with it? We have no idea where the New Republic is established, or how the Resistance forces have been centered and fighting from.

As my pal Mike Swaby pointed out (thanks, Mike!) that could be the “Starkiller Base” we’ve heard about. Perhaps it’s not on a planet, but basically is a planet. I mean, when you already had a Death Star, how can you get bigger and batter? A Starkiller. (note: Starkiller was originally Luke’s last name in the first draft of “The Star Wars” and was reused as the code name for Vader’s secret apprentice in the now-“Legends” [see: out of canon] story The Force Unleashed).

Of course, maybe that’s just a tiny droid, and right now we’re looking in Alderaan places for clues. 😉