The 'Force Friday' Awakens

Happy 'Force Friday!'  For the uninformed, today marked the major release of products (mostly toys) related to the upcoming movie Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, due in theaters on 18 December.  As this will be the first Star Wars movie in 10 years, and Star Wars is a guaranteed money machine regardless of quality (as witnessed by Episode I: The Phantom Menace), anything related to this new flick has been treated as a big event.  As I strolled through stores today enjoying the Star Wars focus, a few observations triggered some (potentially) interesting thoughts on what the movie might be like.  The production of Episode VII has been shrouded in a degree of secrecy, and sometimes toy releases are the best ways to glean information about what's coming.  This post discusses those thoughts, and contains movie spoilers as found in officially-released trailers and products, so stop reading if you'd rather avoid such things.

Before today, the main official sources of information regarding the movie have been:
1. two movie trailers
2. a commercial
3. a 'behind the scenes' clip which aired at Comic-Con
4. a variety of the standard press releases, interviews, and statements from some involved in the production

The four videos (items 1-3 above) can be viewed on this website.

Based on these official sources, we know (at a high level) the following information about the film:

- It's set about 30 years after Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
- All six main stars from the original trilogy (Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, C-3PO, Chewbacca) will return in some role.
- There will be a slew of new characters, to include Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, Finn, Rey, BB-8, and Poe Dameron (see here for some pics and more info).
- The Empire and Rebellion have been replaced by the First Order and Resistance, respectively.  Though names have changed, the organizations are largely the same, with the former standing for autocratic order, and the latter for freedom.  They are apparently at war, though whether it's a continuation of the original conflict or a new one is unknown.  For both sides, the design of uniforms/armor and vehicles (starfighters/etc.) are heavily influenced by the original trilogy.

There's more, of course- much more- but that's the gist.

Today's product releases shed new light on the movie.  Perusing the toys, I made the following four observations based on what I saw and didn't see:

- There will be a lot of fighting in this movie (not surprising).  It looks like there will be a snow battle, desert battle, and battle in a ruin, and a fight in a forest.  I don't know the degree of each skirmish, but this differs from the original trilogy, where each movie focused on a certain region (desert, snow, forest, respectively).  Here, it looks like they'll be rather comprehensive.  If they hold true to the odd-but-endearing Star Wars tendency to have only one type of environment per planet, that could mean a lot of planets show up in the film.

- The original heroes (Han et. al.) will not play large parts in the film.  The toys are very focused on the new characters.  Of the six I mentioned above, only Han and Chewbacca were featured in any toys I saw today (and only in a Lego set).

- Finn and Rey are the only new characters whose last names were not given.  This seems to be an important omission.  What does this say about their identity?

- Luke Skywalker has featured very little in any of the previews or released information.  Again, his absence intrigues me.  Why have we not seen a picture of him . . . anywhere?  Another surprise, perhaps, is in store.

Time will tell what the movie holds.  Until then, investigating product releases are a fun way to speculate.