Watch Star Wars Episode VII's First Official Trailer Right Here

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

Well, the X wings looked cool, other than that... like someone else said, the combination of the voiceover sounding like someone putting on a joke gruff evil voice and the way the guy in the stormtrooper armour popped up suddenly made it look like it was a trailer for some sort of Scary Movie style parody, as did the spinning robot thing. Shot of the pilots looked kinda CGI, especially the helmets...which is odd, you'd thing they'd be the shots that didn't look like that. Lightsaber crossguard seems a little dangerous.

eh...tbh the only thing I've ever really liked about star wars was some of the ship/vehicle design and some of the costumes/set design. Probably why I liked the X wings.

 

[Entitled]

Oh look! There is another black guy in the Star Wars universe aside from Lando and Mace Windu!

And there is also a new female human.

 

[Vigormortis]

I just love that people are losing their shit over the light-saber with a hand-guard.

You people DO realize, of course, that you're bitching and moaning about the unwieldiness of a sword that, by it's very (in canon) nature, is unwieldy? And more over, you're complaining about the believability of the hand-guard of a sword that literally can not function, in a realistic sense, as it is often displayed in the films?

I mean....fuck's sake, calm down a little. It's just a hand-guard. And at this point they'll need a little more than just color variants to differentiate between them. Besides, from what I'm told, that type of light-saber is actually in-canon. So if you want to lose your shit about it, direct it at Lucas.

Speaking of which, at least take a little solace in knowing he isn't a part of the film this time around.

As for me, I was more disappointed that the teaser featured nothing but nostalgia wank. There wasn't a thing in there that felt new, fresh, or different. Just retreads.

Still. It's a teaser. And, there's more than a year before it hits theaters.

I'll be reserving judgement until then.

[sub]And even then, my judgement won't be nearly as harsh as some. I'm not really that big a fan of Star Wars.[/sub]

 

[Ark of the Covetor]

It looks interesting, and they can't really go anywhere but up from here due to the prequel series.

I'm not sure. That lightsaber broadsword made me absolutely cringe. It's quite possible to do worse than the prequel series.

This. Also the fucking stupid rollerball astromech droid. I was really hoping Disney would tone down the JJ-factor enough that this wouldn't end up being a rehash of the Trek reboot, and I still hope that, but it feels like much more of a forlorn hope now.

Ugh, seriously though, energy quillions? How does that even make sense? The saberstaff was a bit silly sure, but it made sense as a fighting style and in the context of "lightsaber combat as retrofuture martial arts swordplay", a medieval European-style broadsword doesn't fit that visual narrative well at all, and further it's a ridiculous idea "in universe" - what is the guy supposed to do with them, try and trap an opponent's blade? Sounds like a great way to inadvertently chop your own arm off. You can't grip the blade and use them as a weapon either, and they're useless as a guard since an enemy's blade sliding down your own would cut through the projectors without ever touching the quillions they're emitting and go right into your hand. This is typical Abrams - OTT visual flair that's all about generating a momentary "ERMAHGERD KEWL!" response before the whole thing collapses under the weight of its own Fridge Logic.

I just love that people are losing their shit over the light-saber with a hand-guard.

You people DO realize, of course, that you're bitching and moaning about the unwieldiness of a sword that, by it's very (in canon) nature, is unwieldy? And more over, you're complaining about the believability of the hand-guard of a sword that literally can not function, in a realistic sense, as displayed in the films?

I mean....fuck's sake, calm down a little. At least take a little solace in knowing Lucas isn't a part of the film this time around. Besides, from what I'm told, that type of light-saber is actually in-canon. So if you want to lose your shit about it, direct it at Lucas.

As for me, I was more disappointed that the teaser featured nothing but nostalgia wank. There wasn't a thing in there that felt new, fresh, or different. Just retreads.

Still. It's a teaser. And, there's more than a year before it hits theaters.

I'll be reserving judgement until then.

[sub]And even then, my judgement won't be nearly as harsh as some. I'm not really that big a fan of Star Wars.[/sub]

Oh kindly shove the "realism? in MY fantasy movie?!" nonsense somewhere uncomfortable; as people have spent countless hours on countless forums explaining to "judgement reservers" the world over; "realism" and "internal consistency" are not the same thing. It doesn't matter if a fictional world follows the rules of reality as long as it follows its own already-established rules. Yes, moronic crap like the "lightwhip" exist in the EU, but given Disney literally eradicated the entire EU from canon just a short while ago specifically so they could pick out the good bits and ignore the nonsensical drivel that naturally builds up in a semi-official ecosystem that often amounted to legitimised fanfics(a great decision IMO; the EU had many, many more stinkers than it had gems, particularly in the post-RotJ stuff that the films will now be overwriting), their existence is hardly a good peg for anyone to hang a positive view of the broadsword on.

 

[Jamieson 90]

I don't get why people are losing their shit over the guard on the lightsaber. There's a reason real swords have guards, they're there to stop your hand being chopped off, you know like what happened to Anakin, Count Dooku, Luke and Vader? If anything you would have thought they'd have learnt sooner.

As for the teaser I was somewhat impressed. Those X-wings looked seriously cool.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

That light longsword thing annoyed me BUT now i wonder if its there to help block lightsabre attacks. The normal sabre has no guards to stop a blade sliding down and chopping into your fingers. So if they use it properly in fights it could be amazing - though that depends on whether its a cosmetic addition or not.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Four words: Star Wars Christmas Special.

Five words: Star Wars Christmas TV Special. I said film! ;-)

You have to go out of your way to see that thing (I've never bothered), and whilst some of it's canon (actually, I'm not sure anymore, since Disney bought SW?) no one ever considers it when talking about SW's legacy. As far as cinema history goes, there are six films.

 

[Spacewolf]

Can't help but notice how similar the trailers for this and JW are.

 

[laggyteabag]

Also, is it /just/ me, or does the film quality of that trailer feel a bit...amateur? A very good amateur, but not of the quality you'd think Abrams would have avilable.

That was pretty much my first thought until I saw the X-Wings flying over the water. I was pretty sure that this was just a hoax fan film trailer and not actually the real thing. It was a good trailer, mind you, but I expect it to get a pretty large touch up in the space between now and the release date.

 

[CelestDaer]

Oh look! There is another black guy in the Star Wars universe aside from Lando and Mace Windu!

And he's part of a group that frequently end up dead... oh... wait...

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Oh look! There is another black guy in the Star Wars universe aside from Lando and Mace Windu!

And there is also a new female human.

There were far more female humans in Star Wars than black characters. Mace, Lando, Panaka, Typho dude with an eyepatch in AOTC, random rebel pilot in ROTJ... thats all I can remember off the top of my head. Thats it, not even background characters that I can remember from any of the movies.
As for human females aside from Leia and Amidala, Phantom Menace had the Queen's Handmaidens, Sabé (the body-double Queen played by Keira Knightley)..., AOTC had the next Naboo Queen after Amidala. Mon Mothma, the librarian chick in AOTC, sure I could think of more if I went back and watched the movies again. Quite a few more human females on-screen than black guys.

 

[SecondPrize]

I've been skeptical about these films and was while coming into this. Seeing those X-wings and the Falcon though, now I'm just impatient.

 

[cth]

I'm sorry. I have to call it. That looks fake. I don't see any of the old guys in it. Also the first thought that shot into my head was penis sword, when I saw the "longsword" lightsaber. The stormtrooper popping up makes it look really cheaply made, just like one of those youtube parodies. The falcon animation is nice though. Oh, and the guy trying to channel Cumberbatch's voice sounds like the dragon from The Hobbit is auditioning for Nolan's Batman.

I bet there will be a real teaser early next year.

 

[Mahorfeus]

To be completely fair, this isn't exactly the first time [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Crossguard_lightsaber] that a lightsaber with some kind of guard has showed up. Silly as it looks, I think it is actually quite practical.

Also, for some reason, the voiceover really gave me a Dark Souls vibe.

 

[Ryan Hughes]

Yes, this is the perfect time. Everyone who came here to watch the Star Wars trailer and talk about the Star Wars trailer really, really wants to hear how different and special your opinions are. Please, continue.

Haha! Well, I watched the trailer just like everyone else, and am commenting on it just like everyone else. Just because my opinion differs does not mean that I have no business being here. Maybe I am just paranoid that my life would be threatened on these forums a second time by another rabid fanboy. Besides, we are all different and special snowflakes, now aren't we?

Since you asked so nicely, I shall continue: The editing in this trailer is not up to professional standards, as some before I have pointed out, and it would be a shame to see the end film edited like this. It is choppy and jarring, when it is trying to be mysterious and far-reaching. None of the prior Star Wars films had this type of editing, even in the multiple-level crescendo of the third film, the transitions were smoother than this. The trailer tries to build mystique for the inevitable -and predictable- sound of John Williams' horns, but it falls completely flat on its face instead, as no real narrative or question was presented to the audience. As much as I dislike the other films in the series, this is beginning to look even worse.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Are the Sith naturally insecure about their light saber designs? I know they want to stand out and to be fair a claymore style light sabre is pretty bad ass but I can't help but think you'll just going to end up stabbing yourself with that hilt.

I think it kinda makes sense for the Sith to have all these kooky lightsabers- They're prideful and arrogant, they're going to want something that stands out even if it's not so practical. I would be a little concerned if we see Jedi wielding strange-shaped lightsabers.

I was all set to hate this, but it actually looks kinda cool. I really, really like that boxy-ass speeder, snowy forest is a nice change of scenery, and I don't mind that lightsaber. I'm pleasantly surprised they didn't show any orignal-trilogy actors, I would have thought they would be all over that shit (I guess the Falcon is doing that 'SHIT, NOSTALGIA PEOPLE' bit).

My prediction is that it's just going to be a bit underwhelming though. Not bad, just underwhelming. Even the people that are expecting a great big steamy shit aren't going to be as pissed off as they're expecting. It's just going to be a bit forgettable.

 

[Vigormortis]

Oh kindly shove the "realism? in MY fantasy movie?!" nonsense somewhere uncomfortable; as people have spent countless hours on countless forums explaining to "judgement reservers" the world over; "realism" and "internal consistency" are not the same thing. It doesn't matter if a fictional world follows the rules of reality as long as it follows its own already-established rules. Yes, moronic crap like the "lightwhip" exist in the EU, but given Disney literally eradicated the entire EU from canon just a short while ago specifically so they could pick out the good bits and ignore the nonsensical drivel that naturally builds up in a semi-official ecosystem that often amounted to legitimised fanfics(a great decision IMO; the EU had many, many more stinkers than it had gems, particularly in the post-RotJ stuff that the films will now be overwriting), their existence is hardly a good peg for anyone to hang a positive view of the broadsword on.

Your unnecessary rudeness aside, pray tell what "established" rules does the core crop of films have that precludes the inclusion of a light-saber with a hand-guard?

Because I heard the same bullshit when Episode One came out and self-proclaimed "die-hard fans" bitched about Darth Maul's dual-sword. They cried, "Myah! That's not canon! You couldn't wield that properly!"

Now I see the same people saying dual-bladed light-sabers are fine, but this hand-guard thing.... IT'S BLASPHEMY!

So please, do enlighten me as to why the sword in the teaser is somehow 'offensive' to the canon of the core films "established rules". Rules, it seems, that are so fluid as to not even matter.

[edit]
Or perhaps I should say: Rules so fluid that the only real stipulation be, "it's a sword that glows".

[edit 2]
For that matter, how dare you scream about "internal consistency". Even the films aren't consistent with the displayed behavior and physical properties of light-sabers.

 

[SmugFrog]

Opening shot made me think it was a parody trailer.

Ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one. My first thought was of Spaceballs and I expected him to hold up a giant pick and say he hadn't found anything.

 

[kael013]

I don't get why people are losing their shit over the guard on the lightsaber. There's a reason real swords have guards, they're there to stop your hand being chopped off, you know like what happened to Anakin, Count Dooku, Luke and Vader? If anything you would have thought they'd have learnt sooner.

It's all about practicality and aesthetic.

All those characters you mentioned lost their hands to swinging strikes to the wrist. The guard shown doesn't protect from that angle. Also, it's more of a danger to the wielder. Remember all those blade locks in the films where one fighter gives a line or two of exposition? With this lighsword that blade lock could end the fight because if it's pushed into the wielder's face at the wrong angle the "guard" will stab him - and at the length shown it would either be fatal or injure him badly enough for his opponent to easily dispatch him. And it wouldn't even protect against an opponent sliding the saber down towards the fingers: the blade emitters for the guard blades are extended enough the opponent's blade would slice through them instead of hitting the guard blades. All around the design is impractical.

Lightsabers were based on eastern weapon martial arts, katanas in particular, and based on what little research I've done, Japanese sword styles revolve around evading your opponent's strikes or deflecting with the sides of the blade (to avoid nicking the sharp edge and ruining the blade). Sure, lightsaber styles have branched out - Dooku's saber revolved around fencing - but all shown styles have had slashing strikes at their core. European sword designs were based around stabbing in order to cut through armor or powerful swings to knock the opponent off-balance. As such, the lightsword shown seems out of place because it's designed to defend against a sword style that isn't used in-universe.