CREDIT: WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is coming out December 18th.

On Dec. 8 Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens is going to open in theatres and is poised to send box office records tumbling.

One would be hard pressed to find more hype surrounding an upcoming movie, as every inch of the internet is filled with news and speculation about the new entry in the Star Wars saga.

Director J.J. Abrams and company have been very selective with what they have shown or talked about in the media thus far, so naturally everything that has been revealed has seen the most enthusiastic fans take to the internet to dissect every frame of footage.

The summer saw a number of new facts made public, as information about characters, actors and just a little bit of plot was unveiled. Though there is enough speculation to fill a dozen columns, I decided to split the summer news into two categories.

Roles Revealed

The entirety of the cast was revealed before the shooting had even begun, but the initial release made no note of who would be playing whom, outside of the returning actors.

The first trailer confirmed the roles of the two new leads, John Boyega as Finn and Daisy Ridley as Rey, as well as Oscar Isaac as X-wing pilot Poe Dameron. This short tease left the roles of many notable actors unaccounted for, primarily Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie and Andy Serkis.

Finally, over the course of several conventions and media specials, the majority of the cast has been confirmed. Driver is playing Kylo Ren, who was seen in the first trailer igniting a cross-guarded lightsaber in the final shot and is expected to be the primary antagonist of Episode VII.

Gwendoline Christie, best known as Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones portrays Captain Phasma and chrome suited stormtrooper whose overall role is a mystery, but is likely an officer of some significant rank.

Another addition to the dark side’s military might is Domhall Gleeson – Harry Potter’s Bill Weasley – as General Hux, commander of his army’s primary base.

Andy Serkis is bringing his motion capture expertise as Supreme Leader Snoke, Kylo Ren’s master and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o is also portraying a motion capture character in Maz Kanata, a pirate.

New Enemies

As anyone reading this should know, Episode VII takes place after the original trilogy, with both the Empire and Sith defeated, but naturally peace doesn’t last as replacements have sprung up.

The army of stormtroopers and twin ion engine (TIE) fighters that have been seen in the trailers are the forces of the First Order, among whose command structure includes Phasma and Hux directly, and Kylo Ren in an unspecified capacity.

Ren’s status is hazy due to the presence of the Knights of Ren, a dark side-worshiping group who are merely ‘allied’ with the First Order. Ren, like Darth, is a title taken on by members of the group, led by Serkis’ Snoke. This opens the intriguing possibility of a large number of dark side users appearing in the film, as it seems likely this group does not adhere to the Sith ‘rule of two’.

Plot Points

The plot is the most secretive aspect of production thus far as the events of this film will impact characters that people have grown to love for more than 30 years.

It’s safe to assume that there will be a conflict between the First Order and whatever government was formed after the rebellion, but certain plot points have been made clear from footage shown.

We know that Anakin Skywalker’s original lightsaber will play some role and is most likely the blue lightsaber wielded by Finn in the 10-second trailer released. This also confirmed the early suspicions that Finn’s character will be a part of a new generation of Jedi.

Kylo Ren and his allies are seeking ‘powers’ in order to take over the galaxy, though what exactly that means is unclear.

How accurate or truthful this information is won’t be known until December and Abrams has shown in the past he’s not afraid of skirting the truth to hide a plot twist. The only thing known for sure is that the more information he gives, the more excited people are getting.