Five Intriguing Questions from the New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Posters

The new Star Wars: The Force Awakens posters are, in a word, gorgeous. One, unified style for each of the five initial characters shown: Rey, Finn, Leia, Han, and Kylo Ren, makes for an awfully nice looking line-up

But do they tell us anything new? They might, especially in the way they were delivered to us, with stars Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, and John Boyega getting in on the act, and Regal Cinemas giving us a new line for Kylo Ren. Let’s take a closer look, and start our speculation engines a bit with some humorous and some series inquiries.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters December 18, 2015.

“The Scoundrel Returns” – With His 40 Year Old Blaster

Han Solo definitely looks a little scruffy-looking in his solo character poster. Initially put out into the wild by the Star Wars facebook page, they simply said “The Scoundrel Returns.”

It’s hard to be glib or really anything but awed at how easily Harrison Ford just instantly looks and feels like Han Solo again, but we will ask this: why is he still using that old blaster? Sure, the old DL-44 was trusty for him back in the day, but when he used it during the Rebellion, it was already about a thirty-year-old design! I know technology doesn’t change that much in the Star Wars universe, but have blasters really not gotten any better in sixty years?

You know what, it’s just Han’s thing – just look at the Falcon, after all. Never mind, Han. We’re cool.

“There’s an Adventure to be Had!”

When Daisy Ridley posted her poster for Rey on Instagram, she said, “IT’S REY!!! Looking all freckly from the Jakku sun and as if there’s an adventure to be had!!!”

Indeed, there’s not much new to be seen in her poster – other than her continuing to look like a badass. She continues to be shown with this staff, but so far in the trailers we’ve only seen her use it as a walking stick, instead using a blaster in her only combat scene. Still, it’s interesting to have those inciting words of Rey being the one with “an adventure to be had,” which could hint at the focus being on her character, at least in the first act of the film.

“He Has Something to Fight For”

John Boyega’s tweet for Finn’s poster included a hashtag: “#HeHasSomethingToFightFor“

The hashtag isn’t anything well-known, or an incredibly common quote, and thus it becomes Finn’s rallying cry. The former stormtrooper is once again shown here with that blue lightsaber, and now we’re wondering what the “something” is: redemption? Family? Self-worth? The Resistance? The Galaxy? The light side of the Force?

Whatever it is, it’s hard to look in his eye and not see that line as the absolute truth.

“Nothing Can Stand in Our Way”

Kylo Ren is a character that’s easy to be afraid of, from just a single look at the character, much like Darth Vader was. His firey and unstable looking lightsaber is impressive even in this close-up, with sparks flying from it, continuing to fuel the idea that it’s something he’s cobbled together without any real knowledge of how they’re supposed to work.

The quote Regal Cinemas delivered with the poster, “Nothing Can Stand in Our Way” is a forceful line – it’s also, again, intriguingly inclusive. The use of “Our” – is he talking to the other Knights of Ren? The First Order? One individual, perhaps one he’s trying to recruit to his cause? It’s amazing how much that single word in that one line opens the doors of possibility.

“We have the Force”

And that brings us to the most intriguing one of all: Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. Standing in what looks like some kind of command center with holographic maps around her, Leia sure seems like she’s still a prominent leader – this time in the New Republic and/or the Resistance. But what Fisher tweeted out with the poster is much more interesting still:

“Oh Luke, don’t ask for the moon, we have the force.”

Now, that could just be her riffing, but Lucasfilm’s promotional work on this movie so far has been extremely careful and exceedingly specific. The quote has several aspects to it that should be noted:

1) Leia is talking to Luke – a good sign for all those people freaking out that Luke has been left almost entirely out of the promotional material.

2) Leia is reassuring Luke about the Force’s power – this is huge. The idea that Luke, who battled the Emperor, fought off a turn to the dark side, returned his father from the dark side, and single-handedly brought the idea of Jedi back into the galaxy, needs to be reassured about the Force, is a big deal. The idea that it’s Leia telling him as much is even bigger – and sure seems to be indicating that she’d grown quite a bit in her own connection to the Force over the last three decades.

Bonus: Where’s Luke?

I’m legally obligated to post this question in every speculation piece and whenever Luke Skywalker isn’t prominently displayed on new promotional material. Also missing: Character posters for Poe Dameron, Captain Phasma, and maybe Chewbacca and the Droids. Or hey, just randomly throw one out there for Supreme Leader Snoak so we all know what he looks like!