In an era where marketing strategies for blockbusters have been turned into well oiled machines, I was a little worried the new Star Wars would be missing the “event of the year” magic we saw in the original and prequel trilogies by the time the first trailer hit. If the 2014 box office has anything to say, it’s that the over saturation of tent-pole movies has seemingly stolen the thunder of “event” films of the likes of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and even the prequel trilogy. But when JJ Abrams announced the Star Wars teaser debut for Episode VII, this silly little notion of mine was all but swept away.
Earlier this morning the world got its first glimpse into the next chapter of the adventures of a galaxy far far away. Writers, critics, filmmakers, cinephiles, and fans around the country poured into one of the 30 theaters playing the Star Wars teaser on the big screen while millions of others sat and waited anxiously to watch when the brief 88 seconds of glory hit the web. I even attended an event in the Lamar Alamo Drafthouse committed to finding any and every detail from this trailer by playing it on the big screen 17 times(including two frame by frame breakdowns). The internet had gone mad! Movie buffs were totally out their minds when we received the tiniest glimpse into the future of the franchise that started it all.
The only thing more enticing than catching this beauty on the big screen was watching the world wide web totally explode with joy and excitement over the hope of the next Star Wars. It didn’t take minutes after arriving on the internet before social media was totally obliterated by tweets and posts of reactions, theories, and even video breakdowns of what’d just been revealed. We’d left an old world and entered a new one.
Obviously we all love Star Wars, but one has to ask: what is it about this little Star Wars teaser that’s swept the internet into one of the biggest nerdgasms of the twenty first century? Let’s be real; this teaser told us absolutely nothing about the story, it didn’t please us with shots of Han, Luke, or Leia, and it hardly even gave us shots of the new droids to play with. For all intents and purposes, this was a hollow teaser with no real substance.
We practically have no real material to work with, but finally after nearly a decade (or three depending on who you ask), we have a new hope for the Star Wars franchise. Millions of us fell in love with movies through George Lucas’s unintentional masterpiece Star Wars and the idea of returning to that world again is absolutely tear inducing(tears were shed when the Falcon flew through the screen). Episode VII isn’t just a promise, it’s our future. After years of wandering the desolate desert of event films, the Jedi have returned and we can officially begin getting excited as he look for Jar Jar’s return, demise, and resurrection in episode VII.
Disney has taken hold of the Star Wars franchise and its almost certain we’ll being some sort of Star Wars related project every year for at least the next ten years. Events like what we saw erupt online and in theaters this morning will likely never happen again for this franchise which is why I’ll cherish the experience of seeing the trailer likely for the rest of my life. Was it the greatest teaser in the world? Who cares! This is the beginning of the next era of Star Wars and whether or not this qualifies as a “great” Star Wars teaser is irrelevant; it’s started a cultural conversation that’ll keep on going for years and years to come and I can’t wait to lead the charge.
