Many grown adults had their hearts broken in 1999 when George Lucas released the critically-savaged Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The introduction of universally-hated characters such as Jar Jar Binks and some pretty inept CGI technology meant that Star Wars fans have unfortunately come to fear any further developments on this much-loved movie franchise.
But this 17 December could see the next instalment of Star Wars attempting to buck the trend by offering a reboot of the series with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The internet is already completely awash with vague rumours and idle speculation, so we’ve tried to assemble a compilation of what we definitely know regarding casting, characters and even what the odds are on the film winning an Oscar.
The biggest headline regarding the film’s release is the reintroduction of the original series core co-stars of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher who will undoubtedly relish reprising their iconic roles. As the storyline is set 30 years after the closing scenes of The Return of the Jedi, it will offer fans a reassuring sense of the familiar in attempt to banish the thoughts of Ewan McGregor with a ponytail.
Another key feature of the film is the fact that the series’ creator George Lucas has thankfully been retired to a more ‘advisory’ position, and instead J.J. Abrams has taken up the director’s chair. Abrams has had a good track record of rebooting flagging series such as Star Trek, so we can expect to see a good dose of action, humour and his trademark ‘lens-flare’ taking up most of the shots.
Despite Lucas’ relative absence, the film’s Academy Award winning composer John Williams will handle the iconic movie score once more. And although the odds of Star Wars winning an Oscar still looks like an outside bet, the film’s use of exotic locations as far-ranging as Abu Dhabi and Ireland should ensure that Star Wars: The Force Awakens looks a little more realistic than its forerunners.
Other interesting insights gained via the Betway site include the fact that the film is widely expected to make a worldwide gross of over $1.5 billion which should do much to relieve parent company Disney’s estimated $200 million spent on the film’s production.
Beyond such stats, it’s the gadgets in this distant galaxy that have fans most eager. In particular, droids rolling through desert terrains have raised a few eyebrows, and the spectacular addition of a cross-guard lightsaber will surely be this year’s on-trend toy.
And with the introduction of the awesome Star Wars Battlefront video game, a whole new generation of heroes and the enigmatic character Kylo Ren, it looks like Star Wars may have finally found its feet in the 21st century.
