"Never again," I said. "I'm done with this franchise. It's only going to hurt me again."
But then, yesterday, with some downtime at work, I found myself doing this.
Yesterday was the launch of Star Wars Celebration, aka the official Star Wars convention. It kicked off with a special panel dedicated to the new film, The Force Awakens, and while there was no official announcement, it was heavily rumoured that the new teaser would be premiering at that panel.
I tried to get engrossed in the panel, but I kept getting distracted. I was at work, after all. So I missed a few things. Like the revelation that the desert planet we've been seeing so far isn't the familiar location of Tatooine, but a new planet called Jakku.
They talked to the guys who built the droids. The rolled out R2-D2, they rolled out that new bowling ball droid BB-8, which amazed the crowd by a being a practical puppet and not CGI. The elaborated that they thought BB-8 would have to be done with CGI, but Disney CEO Bob Iger new of a robotics company that could pull it off.
They brought out the new cast members, who sadly couldn't say too much about their parts. John Boyega, who plays Finn, the Stormtrooper in all the teasers, told a story (and did a great Harrison Ford impression) about asking Harrison Ford to sign one of his Han Solo action figures on the set one day.
They brought out a platoon of the new Stormtroopers, and then they brought out...the originals. Mark Hamill. Carrie Fisher. Anthony Daniels. Peter Mayhew. It was them. The original cast. Back again. And now...now I was truly getting excited.
More so than the prequels, they really seem to be playing up the nostalgia angle this time out. They are working very hard to maintain the esthetic and the ideals of the original trilogy. This looks and feels more like Star Wars than the prequels did. The prequels played up the icons of the original trilogy, but this...this really is trying to evoke more than the icons...the feelings behind them.
Once the new and the original cast members gathered on stage for a photo op, it was time. They promised us one last thing before they wrapped up. And yes, it was the new trailer. I could hear down the hall a co-worker of mine was also watching it, so I ran into his office to watch it with someone.
At the end of the trailer, we lost our collective minds. We laughed. We cheered. We hugged. You'd think we were watching the Moon landing on TV or something. Everything about it...just felt right.
I'm trying not to get excited. Really, I'm not. I've been down this road before. But with the John Williams music, and the visuals, and how it's everything from the original trilogy but new, I can't help but think...I've come home.
According to my countdown app, Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in 245 days.
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