Our quick guide to Star Wars: The Force Awakens

All images are copyright of Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd.

This is a pre-release guide  and contains no spoilers besides the information that has been released so far and what we have seen in the previews.

Find out everything you need to know about Star Wars: The Force Awakens before you go to the movie theater on the 18th. Characters, locations, factions and where our heroes stand right before the events of Episode VII.

Timeline
Episode VII: The Force Awakens is set approximately 30 years after the Battle of Endor (Episode VI: Return of the Jedi).

Planets & Locations
Seven locations have been seen so far in TV spots and trailers: a desert planet, an ice planet, a castle in a forest next to a lake, the Resistance base and The Starkiller base plus 2 other locations, one with Kylo Ren after a nighttime attack, and another were the First Order Stormtroopers are storming a village.

Lucasfilm Ltd. revealed the names of the planets where the events of The Force Awakens happen.  But what we don't know yet is which planet goes with each location, except for Jakku which is the desert planet. The names of the planets are: Jakku, Takodana, D’Qar and Hosnian Prime. According to some Lego toys, a big battle happens onTakodana.

The Starkiller base and the ice planet seem to be one and the same. The Starkiller base is said to have a weapon capable of destroying entire solar systems. It is bigger and more powerful than its predecessor, the Death Star.
 
Factions

​- The New Republic: As explained in the book Aftermath (Chuck Wendig, 2015), Mon Mothma, with the help of the Rebel Alliance, established the New Republic. It resembles the Republic as it was before The Clone Wars, with a very small and limited army.

- The Resistance: It's a military group that doesn't answer to the New Republic. At the beginning of Episode VII, The First Order and the Resistance are at each other's throats and are ready to go to war. It is believed that Princess Leia started the Resistance to compensate for the lack of military power in the New Republic.

- The First Order: We don't know the exact details yet, but we know that the First Order was formed with the remnants of the Empire. They have control of the Starkiller base, but it is not known why they haven't used it until the events of The Force Awakens. It resembles the Empire in their use of Stormtroopers, Star Destroyers, and Tie fighters.

- Knights of Ren: Kylo Ren, who seems to be the main antagonist in this episode of the saga, is not a Sith. He belongs to an order called the Kights of Ren. Not much is known about them before the events of the movie. The book Aftermath makes reference to a group of darksiders that identify themselves as "acolytes of the beyond." It is believed that they have a connection to the Knights of Ren. ​Read more about this in our previous article.

Characters

Rey (Daisy Ridley)
She has been left by her parents on the planet Jakku, presumably to protect her. From what or whom? we don't know yet. She is a scavenger and a good pilot. Her adventure starts  when she finds the droid BB-8 in the hands of one of Unkar's Thugs. She is the focus of Episode VII. 

People believe her to be force sensitive and may be related to another character (maybe Luke, Leia, Han, Kylo Ren or even Obi-Wan Kenoobi. Who knows?). Her last name has been kept a secret so far. Fans are expecting a big plot twist regarding her identity.

Finn (John Boyega)
He starts the adventure as a First Order Stormtrooper but switches sides at the beginning of Episode VII. We don't know yet if he is force sensitive, but he is trained in hand-to-hand combat and skilled with the use of a lightsaber. His last name has not been revealed and it has been said it is because Stormtroopers loose all individuality when joining the First Order.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill)
Luke has been absent in all the previews, toys and merchandise so far. His location and looks seem to be the biggest mystery of this movie. The only thing we have seen of him so far is his robotic hand touching R2-D2. 

Han Solo (Harrison Ford)
The Captain of the Millennium Falcon is  back (along with his ship) to rescue and guide our new heroes in their quest, just like Obi-Wan Kenobi did in A New Hope. Of all the classic characters from the original trilogy, he is the one with most screen time. We don't know what the status of his relationship with Leia is at the time of Episode VII.

Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew)
The wookiee co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon is back. He has been seen in most of the previews so far, including one inside the Starkiller base detonating a bomb. He seem to have aged, but as indicated in People magazine "he is a baby compared to other wookiees, even though he's over 100 years old."

Leia (Carrie Fisher)
She doesn't hold the title of princess anymore. Instead, she is now a general. Is it General Organa, Solo or something else? She is one of the founders of the Resistance because she never believed that the Empire was completely gone, and always suspected that they will be back to try to take over the galaxy again.

BB-8
He is the new generation of Astromech droid. He is also Poe Dameron's X-Wing navigator who gets stranded on Jakku and rescued by Rey. He is on a mission with Rey and he has to succeed. Does this mission have something to do with Luke Skywalker's lightsaber?

Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac)
A skilled X-Wing pilot who gets captred by the first order at the beginning of the movie. He is tortured by Kylo Ren and later rescued by Finn. It is said that he is on a mission given to him by Leia, although we don't know what that mission is.   

Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong)
She is a 1000 years old pirate and the owner of a place very similar to the cantina on Mos Eisley. We can hear her voice in a couple of trailers advising someone to "let the force in." We don't know if she is force sensitive or if she even has any connection to the force. People believe her to be a type of spiritual guide to either Rey or Finn.

R2-D2 & C-3PO
(Kenny Baker & Anthony Daniels)
They are now relics of a forgotten time, but still functional. Not much is known about their roles in this new chapter of the saga. New information will be released in the comic book C-3PO #1 including how he got that new red arm.

​Kylo Ren (Adam Driver)
He is the main antagonist of Episode VII and obseced with Darth Vader. His real name is not Kylo Ren; that is the name he got when joining the Order of Ren. Is he related to Rey, Han or any of the Skywalkers? we don't know yet. He is looking for Anakin's lightsaber (the blue lightsaber given to Luke in Episode IV). 

He is very powerful with the dark side of the Force, but apparently is not in complete control of his powers. His signature weapon is the cross guarded lightsaber. J. J. Abrams has said that this type of lightsaber is considered a relic, and that he constructed it from old designs that he found.

Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie)
The first chrome and female Stormtrooper that we know of. She is a commander in the First Order and she has been described as a Boba Fett-style character. We haven't heard her voice yet which makes her more intimidating.

​General Hux (Domhnal Gleeson)
General Hux is a high ranking officer of The First Order.   He has been described as opposite to Kylo Ren. Although they work together, their relationship is not a typical one. Kylo Ren is still finding his place in the universe, following the footsteps of Vader. While Hux, like his Imperial predecessors, likes to work on a plan and wants order for the galaxy.

​Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis)
A picture of Supreme Leadser Snoke has not been revealed yet. We know he is the leader of the First Order and Kylo Rens's master. The way he speaks resembles Emperor Palpatine's style. 

He is quite an enigmatic character, and strangely vulnerable at the same time as being quite powerful. He has a huge agenda. He has suffered a lot of damage, but we don't know how or when.

 
​Other Characters
​
Lor San Tekka (no image available): a man in possession of information vital to the quest of finding the elusive Luke Skywalker. As an elder of a village on Jakku, Lor San Tekka is sought out by the heroic pilot Poe Dameron to find the missing Jedi’s whereabouts.

Bobbajo: a Nu-Cosian who lives on Jakku and goes from village to village carrying a cage on his back and telling stories to entertain children. Villagers call him  "Storyteller" or the "Crittermonger" for the animals he carries in his cage.

​Character name not revealed (Billie Lourd) and PZ-4CO: They have been seen at the Resistance base working together. PZ-4CO's body resembles the one of a protocol droid.

Sarco Plank: A scavenger and trader who scours frontier worlds for riches, Sarco Plank must wear a specialized mask that keeps his native atmosphere circulating through his alien lungs.

Ello Asty:  He is a skilled if occasionally reckless X-wing starfighter pilot for the Resistance.

Unkar's Thug: The strong-armed bullies who work for junk dealer Unkar Plutt help keep his scavenging business running on the remote, lawless world of Jakku.

Constable Zuvio: A vigilant law officer on a mostly lawless world, the tough and humorless Constable Zuvio keeps order in a frontier trading post.

What we know so far

1. Kylo Ren is looking for Luke's old lighsaber because it originally belonged to Darth Vader. The lightsaber ends up in Rey and Finn's hands. Apparently they want to return it to Luke.
2. Poe Dameron is captured by the first order and rescued by Finn. They both scape to Jakku.
3. The First Order is in posetion of a very powerful weapon located in the Starkiller base.
4. The Millennium Falcon rescues Finn and Rey when the First Order comes for them at Jakku.
5. Han Solo guides Finn and Rey in their quest.
6. There is going to be a big battle between the resistance and the First Order.

Questions

• Where is Luke Skywalker? why is he in hidding? What does he look like?
• Who is Rey? Why was she left on Jakku by her parents? and who are her parents?
• Is Rey somehow important to the galaxy? Is she force sensitive?
• Is Finn force sensitive?
• Are Rey and Kylo related?
• What's Kylo's real name?
• Are Han and Leia still together?
• What is Supreme leader Snoke's plan for the galaxy?
• Why isn't there a new Jedi order? Are there any other Jedi in the Galaxy?
• Why hasn't the First Order attacked yet using their super weapon?
• Has Luke turned to the dark side?
• What's Poe Dameron's mission, and why does Finn decide to desert the First Order to rescue him?

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