Last Wednesday, October 21, was officially "Back to the Future Day." For those who are wondering why, it's because that date -- October 21, 2015 -- was the fantastic, far-off, futuristic date that Doc and Marty traveled to in Back to the Future Part II. Plus, 2015 is the franchise's 30th anniversary, so it was a good excuse for the 30th anniversary party.
On Wednesday, a good chunk of my show was dedicated to talking about Back to the Future. I just love that movie so much. As many have pointed out, the entirety of the Back to the Future franchise now takes place in the past, as it was meant to be. When franchise co-creators Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale came up with their time travel movie, they knew they didn't their heroes to go to the future because all movies set in the future always get it wrong. "But Mark," you're saying, "The whole end of the first film where Doc takes Marty to the future!" Well, Zemeckis and Gale never had any plans for a trilogy or a franchise back when they made the first one...they just thought it'd be a cute joke to end with. So when the studio wanted a sequel, Zemeckis and Gale were all like, "Well...guess we gotta go to the future. Painted ourselves into a corner with that ending, didn't we?"
But we're not here to talk about Back to the Future. We're here to talk about the new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
When that poster first broke the day before the trailer, my first reaction was, "OH MY GOD THAT'S SO COOL!! It's kinda cluttered, though." A friend on Facebook remarked that he loved my enthusiasm tempered with pessimism.
And as I explained...I've been through all this before, with a little film called Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. As much as everything gets me excited, there's a little voice in the back of my head going, "But what if BB-8 is the new Jar Jar?"
Another comment on Facebook told me to put my faith in JJ Abrams. Last time I did that, I got Star Trek Into Darkness. So, yeah. I'm starting to temper my enthusiasm a little.
Which is strange. I'm not one of those who felt massively burned by the prequels. I'm a bit of an Episode I apologist, actually. I didn't feel burned by the prequels until I saw the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie. That movie is so bad, you guys.
That might be why I haven't bought my advance tickets yet. I'm getting old and paranoid, guys. As much as I want to be there on opening day, it comes out in the middle of December, and there'll probably be 4 feet of snow outside, and I'll have to drive into the city on icy roads with my crappy tires. Fear is starting to consume my life. Fear of driving on icy roads with crappy tires. Fear that The Force Awakens is going to disappoint. Fear of getting out of bed most days.
But still, there's enough in these trailers to get one want to get out of bed. We still don't know these new characters. Who is this woman Rey, and why is she so prominent on the poster? I subscribe to the theory that they're going to reveal her last name to be Solo, and she's Han and Leia's daughter.
And why haven't we seen old Luke Skywalker in any of these promotional materials yet? You know that when he appears in the film, it's going to be a big reveal. A growing theory is that he's actually going to be revealed to be evil...which would be cool. One of the oldest fan theories is that the film is going to be "The Search for Luke" and he doesn't show up until the last 15 minutes or so.
And what's that Death Star-looking thing in the poster?
Anyway, on to the trailer!
Not gonna lie...I kinda like the last trailer better. The way it builds up to the reveal of Han and Chewbacca at the end with "Chewie...we're home." This one, though, finally gives us more glimpses of our new characters, and even though it's just a couple of lines, we're finally getting impressions of who they are and what they're about.
Although, my heart did quicken when they started reinterpreting the "Han Solo and the Princess" theme in the trailer. Reminds me of another tweet I saw: "I really hope the film has more to offer than nostalgia."
My excitement is getting tempered as the day draws closer. Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out on December 18.
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