海角大神

A new trailer for 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens鈥� aired on TV during ABC鈥檚 popular Thursday-night drama lineup.聽

While some of the trailer was comprised of footage fans had already seen, a couple of new moments has them talking.聽

In one, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) gives Rey (Daisy Ridley) a blaster. 鈥淵ou might need this,鈥� he says.

Another shows various characters gathered having a meeting, with Han, someone looks like Leia (Carrie Fisher), and a person who could be Fisher鈥檚 real-life daughter, Billie Lourd, present. Lourd is currently starring on the Fox show 鈥淪cream Queens.鈥�

Fans have seen more footage recently, with an international clip that was released earlier this month providing more details on the character of Rey, who seems to be central to the story. 鈥淚 know all about waiting for my family,鈥� she says.聽

In addition to cast members from the original 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� series such as Ford, Fisher, and Mark Hamill, the movie also stars John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Gwendoline Christie, and Adam Driver, among many others.

The upcoming movie is the third launch of a new 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� film trilogy. The first movie, 鈥淪tar Wars,鈥� debuted in 1977 and was followed by two more films, all following the adventures of Hamill, Ford, and Fisher鈥檚 characters. A new trilogy, which is set before the original movies, debuted in 1999 with 鈥淪tar Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.鈥� 鈥淢enace鈥� and the following two movies were not hits with critics, though they did well at the box office.聽

This new movie is set after 1983鈥檚 鈥淪tar Wars: Episode VI 鈥� Return of the Jedi鈥� and so takes place in a world of which fans know little.

In what kind of movie marketplace will 鈥淔orce鈥� debut? It鈥檚 one where fantasy and science fiction are stronger than ever. When 鈥淢enace鈥� debuted in 1999, the last time a new "Star Wars" series made an appearance, neither the 鈥淗arry Potter鈥� or the 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� series had come along. 鈥淩ings鈥� in particular began a fantasy craze that we are still seeing at the movies today. The 鈥淩ings鈥� films became some of the highest-grossing movies of all time and the third became the first fantasy film ever to win the Best Picture Oscar.聽

The marketplace when 鈥淢enace鈥� debuted was in some ways a very different place. Big-screen spectacle was certainly a draw, as it was only two years after 鈥淭itanic鈥� (and 鈥淭itanic鈥� debuted so close to the end of 1997 that it was a big part of 1998 as well). New twists on horror movies like 鈥淭he Sixth Sense鈥� and 鈥淭he Blair Witch Project鈥� were other big successes of 1999, and otherwise the highest-grossing movies of the year were animated movies (Disney as well as Pixar, which was just getting its start), a romantic comedy, and an Adam Sandler film, among others.

By contrast, 鈥淔orce鈥� will arrive at a multiplex that鈥檚 dominated by comic book movies, which combine elements of fantasy and science fiction. The science fiction film 鈥淭he Martian鈥� has been a force this year as well, showing the popularity of the genre with recent films like 鈥淕ravity鈥� and 鈥淚nterstellar.鈥澛�

Of course, some things haven鈥檛 changed since the beginning of the millennium 鈥� Disney and Pixar were still big players this year and the 鈥淛urassic Park鈥� series, with its element of science fiction, was a big hit in the summer of 2015. It鈥檚 a movie franchise that would have been familiar to a 1999 moviegoer.