The Jedi Council: What did you most like about The Force Awakens trailer #2?

Introducing the Dork Side of the Force: Jedi Council. Each Friday, the staff of Dork Side will come to together to discuss different and particular Star Wars topics, in a platform that allows each staff writer a voice.

This week’s topic – The Force Awakens trailer #2:

Now that you’ve seen the 2nd trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, what did you most like about it? Which parts stood out to you? Was there something you didn’t like? Let’s talk about it!

David (Razor): What I liked most about the 2nd TFA trailer, was the voice-over from Mark Hamill. I will never forget the first time I heard him utter those lines, in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The iconic Star Wars music building to a crescendo as Luke tells Leia that not only is Darth Vader his father, but she is his sister. “The Force runs strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. And… my sister has it.”

The fact that J.J. Abrams was able to please just about every Star Wars fan in the world, by giving us not only the iconic lines, but also the build-up to Han and Chewie, at the end, should let the Star Wars faniverse know that the franchise is in the best, most capable hands possible. I can say with all honesty, that there was not one single thing that I did not like in the trailer.

Joe: It was 19:00 when the trailer hit in the UK.  I was in the pub with my friends and was live chatting to the Dork Side guys as Kyle was at Celebration.  I ran off to a quiet corner with giddy anticipation when I saw the trailer on my FB feed, watched it about ten times, cried and cheered.  I kept watching it for the rest of the night as well, it seemed to get better the more rum I had!

So my initial reaction was certainly one of comfort and nostalgia, what with Han & Chewie wrapping it all up, and certainly a large amount of curiosity from the other scenes.  The grounded Star Destroyer and X-Wing (which isn’t Dameron’s, the air intakes are the rounded ones whereas his are semi-circular like the Z-95), the bumbling little BB-8 (is it real?  How the hell does that work??), the fierce looking Kylo Ren and the new Stormtrooper forces, Finn looking somewhat disheveled throughout (much like his appearance in the teaser) and Rey helping him out.

My favourite part was just seeing the Falcon, something about that ship is Star Wars for me.  The massive banking loop it does in the teaser blew my mind, and seeing it flying and the interior shots with BB-8 and of course Han & Chewie just seems to hit it home for me.

Of course I’ve seen it several times since it was released, but my initial reactions still remain in place.  It’s looking good so far, and while I’m as full of trepidation as the next fan, there’s something familial about this one…something that feels like it will take us back to our favourite galaxy all that way away, with a fresh new start, whilst keeping the past alive without being too saccharine.  So many things to think about, so much to chew on, that’s what makes Star Wars so great!  We can speculate, we can salivate, and we will most definitely celebrate come December.

Elaine: My favorite part about this trailer is the fact that it feels both familiar and completely new. John Williams’ score is there, sweet and welcoming, yet there’s something different about it, something more haunting. Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie are there, but there are also newcomers: Rey, Finn, Poe, BB-8, Kylo Ren, the First Order. Finally, most scenes look as if they’ve been shot using traditional film and sets, but when combined with the digital effects, the look of the movie is pushed into another dimension, creating a cinematic aesthetic unique from both the original and the prequel trilogy. Added to this is the fact that whole galaxies of possibilities are now open for the canon of Star Wars following Return of the Jedi. This may not be the most popular opinion, but I’m happy that the canon from literature, comics, and video games was relabeled as “Legends” last year, because I am now free to be completely surprised and entranced by all of the new things we’re going to see in The Force Awakens and beyond.

Bottom line: The second The Force Awakens teaser trailer was incredible because it was fresh and new…and also like meeting an old and dear friend.

Kyle: I watched the second trailer with Boba Fett. Not the actual Boba Fett, of course, but it might have been his cousin, as he was dressed in signature bounty hunter garb painted with a desert camouflage look. We were not in a desert, and yet he still blended in well, because we were at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, and there were about a hundred other people in Boba Fett costumes among the thousands packed into a tiny auditorium on that Thursday morning.

Anyway, I couldn’t tell you how old this Fett was because he DIDN’T EVEN TAKE OFF HIS HELMET TO WATCH THE TRAILER, so for all we know he might’ve been the actual Boba Fett trying to protect his identity while on an assignment. After I took a selfie with him, I decided to leave him alone in case he thought I was better dead than alive, and then the trailer started playing.

I shouted and cheered and hollered along with all the other fans at all the best parts. The ruined Star Destroyer in the desert, the X-wing squad roaring over the water, R2-D2 by the fire, the Millennium Falcon careening through a decrepit ship’s skeleton. But Boba Fett watched, and was silent.

Until the end. “Chewie, we’re home,” said Han, injecting millions of nerds everywhere with that dangerous drug called nostalgia. And that’s when I thought I heard sniffling coming from a seat next to me. I turned my head, and Boba Fett was ever so slightly shaking his head, the sound of crying emanating from his suit microphone.

Perhaps Fett was only watching the trailer to do some reconnaissance so he could hunt down Han Solo. But I think even he felt what we all felt when Han said those words: We’re back where we belong. The galaxy is no longer so far, far away.

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