Ten years ago, if you asked anyone on the street if there would be another Star Wars film, they would look at you like you were crazy. The saga was complete, or so everyone thought. Now, the saga has a new chapter, starting with Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.  

The Force Awakens follows a new group of heroes as they fight against the First Order—an off-shoot of the Empire and the enemy of the original trilogy. The new trio of heroes includes a Resistance pilot, Poe Dameron; a defected storm trooper, Finn; and a desert scavenger who is strong with the Force, Rey. The main villain of the film is Kylo Ren, a mysterious figure who is obsessed with the Dark Side of the Force, specifically Darth Vader. He proves a formidable foe to the Resistance, especially for Rey. Some of the original franchise’s beloved characters make a reappearance, and needless to say, are a welcome addition.

The saga is split into two trilogies thus far: the originals and the prequels. The originals refer to the first three films: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. The films follow characters such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo as they fight Darth Vader and the evil Empire. The prequels serve as an explanation as to how the Empire rose to power (among other events), and include The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. Events and characters included in both trilogies have a profound effect on the events of The Force Awakens, and presumably will for the future films as well.

In the year or so leading up to the film’s release, the buzz surrounding it was at an all time high. Most, if not all, questions were about whether or not the new team at Disney could recreate the magic of the previous films. The production was secretive, and rumors were the only way to guess about the plot and the characters that would be making a reappearance. When the first trailer dropped in November 2014, it had 60 millions views within the first week. Since then, fans have been devouring every photo and bit of footage for anything that could give them a better look at the film.

By the time December 2015 finally arrived, fans were awaiting eagerly as ever for release day to arrive and for the film to deliver. According to both critics and fans, it did.

The critical reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. With a 93% rating of freshness on Rotten Tomatoes and multiple five-star reviews, this film brings back some of the original charm that made the series so iconic. It has been praised for its use of practical effects, a refreshing change in an industry so focused on computer generated images (CGI for short), as well as its well-rounded characters.

The series has breathed much-needed new life into a beloved series. The new characters have been a source of much excitement, especially the heroes, Rey, Finn, and Poe. Fans are hoping to see even more of them in the following installment.

The fans’ overall excitement towards the film has caused ticket sales to skyrocket, and has even caused multiple websites to crash when pre-advanced tickets went to market. The film has broken multiple recordswith one of the top-selling debut weekends in history. It was also the quickest film to reach $1 billion in sales, and at $1.94 billion, is on track to possibly pass Titanic and Avatar to become the top-grossing film of all time internationally. The film has already made more money domestically than both of those films.

As a whole, Star Wars has become a social phenomenon unlike any other. It has a seemingly unlimited amount of merchandising, as well as spin-off television shows and comics. It has been referenced in countless films and shows, and sayings such as “May the Force be with you” and “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” have now become iconic. It is a hallmark of film, and unifies multiple generations of fans.

Emma Marsters ’18 displays sentiments of nostalgia and excitement over the series, commenting, “Star Wars was part of my childhood. I just remember spending time with my dad and nerding out over it. It is the perfect representation of sci-fi.”

The Force Awakens has done just that: awakened the franchise, the fans, and sales. With renewed interest in the franchise, Star Wars has not only cemented its place in cinematic history, but added new names and faces to its already great success. Thus, the new chapter of Star Wars begins.