7 things you need to know before you watch Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

1. Do I need to watch the first six movies to know what's going on?

Technically, no, but you probably should so you can recognize the parallels to the earlier movies. If you haven't seen any of them, and you want to watch the lot before Episode VII, we suggest Rod Hilton's Machete Order, which completely omits Episode I and goes: IV, V, II, III, VI. This preserves the biggest plot twist of the original trilogy and effectively turns Episode II and III into a flashback, detailing the rise of the Empire, before its eventual downfall in Episode VI. It skips Episode I because nothing important actually happens in Episode I. 

Based on what's been revealed so far, and despite what one Reddit-user thinks, unless J.J. Abrams pulls a complete plot-twist out of nowhere, Jar Jar Binks is unlikely to be a crucial character in Episode VII, let alone the entire saga, so you can safely skip Episode I. If you do want to watch it though, watch it after Episode V, or after you've finished the other five movies.

If you don't have time to watch all the movies (total run time: 13 hours 17 minutes + 5 minutes for the Special Edition versions) you can watch this helpful YouTube video that condenses both trilogies into a short three minutes:

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2. When does Episode VII take place?

The Force Awakens takes place 30 years after Return of the Jedi (Episode VI). Part of the reason the film is set 30 years after the Battle of Endor is because Return of the Jedi came out in 1983, 32 years ago and this is the only way director, J.J. Abrams, could have the original cast reprise their roles.

3. What happened after Return of the Jedi?

Disney has slowly been revealing what happened after Return of the Jedi with a series of tie-in novels and comic books, collectively known as "Journey To The Force Awakens" (currently over 20 books and comics). To save you the trouble of reading everything, here's a brief summary:

The Empire didn't end with the death of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, but largely fell to infighting as Moffs (the equivalent of a regional governor) fought each other for power. Meanwhile, the Rebel Alliance reformed itself into the New Republic under the leadership of Mon Mothma (one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance, played by Caroline Blakiston in Episode VI). With the Empire in chaos, the New Republic swept across the galaxy, liberating a huge number of planets from imperial rule, and a number of high-ranking generals and Moffs even defected to the New Republic.

In a final attempt to strike back at the New Republic, Grand Moff Randd takes what’s left of the Imperial Navy to meet them at the planet of Jakku, an important planet that the New Republic has targeted due to the imperial weapons facility located on it. Instead, Jakku is a disaster for the Empire as New Republic forces overwhelm them with superior tactics and a space fleet of similar scope. The Empire loses much of its fleet, including its last Super Star Destroyer, Ravager, which crashes to the surface, where it remains for the next thirty years, as seen in the second The Force Awakens trailer, where the Millennium Falcon is chased through its wreckage by TIE Fighters.

The battle of Jakku is essentially the death knell for the Empire. The remaining Moffs are forced to sign a peace treaty with the New Republic, with strict borders carving out the areas of space under the control of the two sides.

At this point, the heroes of the original Star Wars trilogy went their separate ways. Luke journeyed to the planet Devoran, intent on learning the ways of the Force and re-establishing a Jedi Temple there. Leia took a position as General in the New Republic. Han Solo and Chewbacca head to the still Imperial-occupied Kashyyyk to attempt to liberate the Wookiee homeworld once and for all.

However, while it seems as if peace has finally been established, a group of imperials displeased with the peace treaty retreats to the edge of the galaxy and begins amassing a small fleet. They call themselves the First Order and seek to re-establish the Empire and continue the work and ideals of Palpatine. By the time of The Force Awakens, they have become a force to be reckoned with and are led by Supreme Leader Snoke (played by Andy Serkis). 

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4. Who are the new heroes?

The original cast may be returning but they're not the stars of the new movie. Mirroring the classic trio of Luke, Leia and Han, the new movie introduces a new heroic trio: Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Poe (Oscar Isaac). Finn starts out as a stormtrooper who defects from The First Order and somehow ends up wielding Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber (yep, the exact same one that Luke lost when Vader cut off his hand in Episode V); Rey is a scrap scavenger from Jakku who helps Finn; and Poe Dameron is a hotshot pilot in The Resistance, a faction fighting against the First Order. Interesting trivia about Poe: his parents, Shara Bey and Kes Dameron, both fought at the Battle of Endor and are protagonists in Marvel's tie-in comic, Shattered Empire.

5. Who's Kylo Ren and why does he have a crossguard lightsaber?

The most talked about scene from the teaser trailer for Episode VII was the appearance of a new villain, who has a unique lightsaber with a crossguard. This person is Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver) and he appears to be the spiritual successor to Darth Vader. Like Vader he wears a mask, and his voice also sounds electronically altered. Ren is the leader of a faction of dark side users within the The First Order called The Knights of Ren. Not much else is known about Ren but there are lots of theories about him. Could his name, Kylo, be a hint at his parentage? Perhaps Leia S(ky)walker and Han So(lo)? Other fans have pointed out that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who is known to be appearing in the movie, has not shown up at all in any of the trailers. Could Luke have fallen to the dark side and be the man behind Kylo's mask?

As for his unusual lightsaber, the most prominent theory is that Ren built his lightsaber based on a primitive and ancient Sith design and that the crossguard is not actually a crossguard but two energy vents on either side of the main blade. Supporting this theory is the fact that Ren's lightsaber blade looks unstable and acts more like fire or electricity rather than the solid blade we've seen from other lightsabers.

6. Is that a new Death Star in the poster?

One of the big talking points about Episode VII's poster reveal is what appears to be a new Death Star. While it hasn't been confirmed yet, this is likely Starkiller Base, the home planet of the First Order. Rather than a man-made structure like the Death Star, Starkiller Base is an ice planet that has been converted into a massive superweapon. According to Starwars.com, Starkiller Base one-ups the Death Star by being "armed with a fiercely destructive new weapon capable of destroying entire star systems." Yep, you read that right, "entire star systems."

Star Wars fans will recognize the name Starkiller as the original name George Lucas intended for Luke, before settling on Skywalker.

7. How about all that Expanded Universe Lore?

The Expanded Universe (EU) started in 1991 with the release of Timothy Zahn's novel, Heir to the Empire which, like Episode VII, also deals with the events of what happened after Return of the Jedi. At the time, George Lucas had no intention of making more Star Wars movies (not even the prequel trilogy), so he allowed a huge amount of novels, comic books, and video games to continue the stories of the films. These stories became canon, and were officially recognized as part of the Star Wars universe. That is, until Disney purchased Lucasfilm. In order to tell the stories they wanted to tell, Disney had to reboot the Star Wars canon and re-branded the entire EU as 'Star Wars Legends' retconning them out of canon.

Officially, the only media that is now considered canon are the six (about to be seven) movies, the two tie-in animated series, Clone Wars and Rebels, and the tie-in novels and comic books Disney-Lucasfilm has been releasing leading up to The Force Awakens.

If you're interested to immerse yourself in the EU or Star Wars Legends as it is now known, you'll be glad to know that we've got a top 5 recommendations list.

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