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Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the seventh episode of the Star Wars saga. Production was announced by George Lucas in 2011, years after initially claiming that the story of Star Wars ended with Return of the Jedi. In 2012 Lucas sold Lucasfilm, along with the entire Star Wars franchise, to The Walt Disney Company who then assembled a new team to rework Episode VII to their own design. This marks the start of a new trilogy of Star Wars movies, and effectively reboots the franchise by casting off the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, opening the doors for new stories to take place in various media. The film was widely anticipated and went on to break several box office records, and is currently the third highest grossing film of all time, behind Avatar and Titanic (unadjusted for inflation, as of February 2016). It won a Bafta for Best Special Visual Effects at the 2016 British Academy Film Awards, and was the American Film Institute's Movie of the Year for 2015. The Force Awakens is set roughly 30 years after the end of Return of the Jedi and follows new heroes Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron, as they assist the the Resistance in the fight against the evil forces of the First Order, which has risen from the ashes of the defeated Galactic Empire.

With The Force Awakens almost upon us, I thought it appropriate to create a thread for us to discuss the latest addition to the saga. Obviously spoilers will lurk within this thread, but please use the 'spoiler' tags if you have to mention major plot points just in case somebody stumbles in

Daisy Ridley, the actress who portrays Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars Episode VIII has revealed that she knows the identities of her characters parents, as she put an end to speculation that Rey's mother would be Jyn Erso from upcoming anthology film Rogue One. There has been much speculation surrounding the Rey's parentage, and this has remained one of the unanswered mysteries of the Star Wars sequels. Additionally, director JJ Abrams added further fuel to the fire by revealing that Rey's parents are apparently not present in The Force Awakens. Abrams remained cryptic about the truth, however, stating only that "I can’t possibly say in this moment who they are. But I will say it is something that Rey thinks about, too." This would appear to rule out the big three, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo, meaning that Rey and Kylo Ren may not be related as many fans have speculated. Update: JJ Abrams has since clarified his statement by telling Entertainment Weekly that Rey "doesn’t discover [her parents] in Episode VII. Not that they may not already be in her world". So, it is once again open season on speculation in that area. Despite claiming to know who Rey's parents are Ridley does not seem to think it is that big a deal anyway, instead focusing on the story of Rey finding her own place in the present. Star Wars Episode VIII is said to have a darker tone than The Force Awakens, but has not revealed whether her character will indeed become a fully-fledged Jedi after her meeting with Luke Skywalker. Rogue One is due in cinemas 16 December 2016, with Star Wars Episode VIII releasing on 15 December 2017.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be coming to home video in April, the official website has revealed. The film will be recieving an early release on Disney Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere digital formats on 1st April 2016, with Blu-ray and DVD versions available in stores from 5th April. The release date for the 3D version has not yet been announced, but is due later this year. Bonus features (which may vary depending on format) include: Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey - a behind the scense look at the making of The Force Awakens, with new footage and exclusive interviews with the cast and crew. The Story Awakens: The Table Read - cast members reflect on the day they first came together to read the movie’s script Building BB-8 - behind the scenes with the creators of Star Wars' newest droid Crafting Creatures - behind the scenes with the creators of the film's new alien creatures Blueprint of a Battle: The Snow Fight - a closer look at the lightsaber battle between Rey and Kylo Ren John Williams: The Seventh Symphony - the composer shares personal insights of his work on the Star Wars saga ILM: The Visual Magic of The Force - a look into the movie's digital visual effects Force For Change - see how the Star Wars: Force for Change initiative has united Star Wars fans all over the globe to help others Deleted Scenes - the scenes that didn't make the final cut

Lego have revealed that their next video game will be Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, continuing the Lego Star Wars saga and bringing it up to date with the latest movie. The game, developed by TT Games and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, will feature new characters and locations from The Force Awakens and promises to bring back the classic Lego humor and add newly enhanced features that have not been seen in previous Lego video games. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released on 28th June 2016 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Windows PC. Keen Lego gamers may recall that the original Lego Star Wars video game was the first of Lego's licensed video games back in 2005, and it's great to see Lego continue to be a part of the Star Wars family. Check out the fantastic teaser trailer below! May the Bricks be with you!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has picked up a BAFTA win for Best Special Visual Effects at the 69th British Academy Film Awards. The event, held at London's Royal Opera House on 14 February 2016, saw The Force Awakens nominated in several categories. Also, actor John Boyega, who portrays Finn, secured the EE Rising Star Award which is awarded by public vote. Boyega beat off rivals Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey), Brie Larson (Trainwreck), and Bel Powley (The Diary of a Teenage Girl). The Force Awakens had been nominated for several other categories, but fell short of victory to the following productions: John William's score was nominated for Best Original Music, but lost out to Ennio Morricone soundtrack for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. The award for Best Sound went to the team behind The Revenant. Mad Max: Fury Road picked up the Best Production Design award. This may serve to predict what may happen at the Oscars later this month, although things don't always work that way.

The production team behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens is to be prosecuted by the UK's Health and Safety Executive following the accident at Pinewood Studios that left 73-year-old Han Solo actor Harrison Ford with a broken leg. Foodles Production (UK) Ltd, is set to appear before High Wycombe Magistrates Court in May to face charges relating to the failure of heath and safety proceedures that should have been set in place to ensure the safety of the cast and crew. Following investigations HSE detirmined that there were four breaches of health and safety law that the company directors must answer to, stating that "employers must take reasonable steps to protect workers - this is as true on a film set as a factory floor". The incident involved a hydraulic door, which was considered dangerous machinery for the purposes of the investigation, and will most likely leed to a fine for the company, which was set up in 2013 for the production of The Force Awakens.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been nominated for five Oscars at this year's 88th Academy Awards. Although as expected The Force Awakens failed to make the cut for some of the top awards it was nominated in five of the more technical categories that honor the high production values of the film industry, and it faces some stiff competition from some of 2015's big hits. You can find a list of the awards The Force Awakens is in the running for along with its fellow nominees below: Best editing The Big Short Mad Max: Fury Road The Revenant Spotlight Star Wars: The Force Awakens Best original score Bridge of Spies Carol The Hateful Eight Sicario Star Wars: The Force Awakens Best sound editing Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Sicario Star Wars: The Force Awakens Best sound mixing Bridge of Spies Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Star Wars: The Force Awakens Best visual effects Ex Machina Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Star Wars: The Force Awakens The awards ceremony will take place at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on 28th February 2016.

Lucasfilm has confirmed the identity of the First Order stormtrooper dubbed "TR-8R" by internet meme artists after he yelled "traitor!" at Finn in The Force Awakens. The stormtrooper's true designation is FN-2199, and he was one of Finn's squadmates prior to the hero blasting his way out of Starkiller Base and joining the Resistance. Dubbed "Nines" by his friends, he trained alongside Finn (then known as FN-2187) before joining a riot control squad that uses betaplast shields and lightsaber resistant Z9 batons for subduing crowds at odds with the First Order's regime. Nines appeared in the Greg Rucka book Before the Awakening, which includes a nifty illustration by Phil Noto showing the red-haired stormtrooper sat in the background. On the big screen, he was voiced by David Accord, a sound editor from Skywalker Sound, while stunt actor Liang Yang gave him his moves. It has been hinted that we may not have seen the last of Nines...

Firstly, a word of warning: While this article intends to be free of spoilers, please be aware that any external links or related articles may not be. The Force Awakens was viewed with caution by many fans who wanted a return to the spirit of the classic Star Wars trilogy which many felt was missing from the prequel trilogy, released 15 years previously. As reactions sink in the general feeling seems to be that it has for the most part lived up to the hype, and that director JJ Abrams and his team at Lucasfilm and Disney have delivered on their promise to make Star Wars great again. According to reports, The Force Awakens has already destroyed the UK opening day box office record, with a £9.6 million (US$14.3m) take that smashes the previous record set by Spectre only two months ago. A quarter of these sales where from the midnight release alone, and gives Episode VII of the Star Wars saga a boost to breaking further records as it continues it's run on the big screen. The film itself is holding up well in reviews too, with film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes scoring The Force Awakens an admirable 95% fresh and user reviews showing that 93% of viewers enjoyed the film (at time of writing). While some reviewers have criticised the film for playing fan-service and reusing old ideas, others have praised it for bringing back the feelings of joy they experienced the first time they watched the original trilogy, and carrying with it a sense not only of nostalgia but also of hope for the future. Even the good reviews cast light on the moments where dialogue gets a little cheesy, but for every negative there are more positives; and one of these positives is the casting. Rey (Daisy Ridley), and Finn (John Boyega) work great together on screen and have us rooting for them throughout the action, and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) was not just another copy-and-paste villain as we saw all too often in the prequel trilogy, but a complex character with his own ambitions that occasionally seemed to set him at odds with his superior, Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and other members of the First Order. General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) is menacing as one of the officers of the First Order and parallels can certainly be drawn between him and figures from real world history. BB-8 and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) are sure to be new fan favourites, as they both brings familiar humor and general badass-ness to the film. Familiar faces also make a return, and we discover what Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) have been up to while we were away. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is central to the plot of The Force Awakens, but his role is clearly going to be more prominent in future films. Overall the film delivers much but ultimately leaves us wanting more, and with future films and spin-offs already on the way it is only a matter of time before we return to a galaxy far far away once more. The Force truly is strong with this one.

Star Wars: Aftermath will be part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens series, and will explore the events following the destruction of the second Death Star, it has been revealed.Aftermath, as the title suggests, will pick up immediately following Return of the Jedi, and delve into the events occurring after the Battle of Endor. It has also been revealed that critically-acclaimed author Chuck Wendig is writing the novel. The novel will also form part of a trilogy and will introduce a new cast of characters along with familiar faces. It has also been hinted that some characters and locations referred to in the novel will pop up or have relevance to The Force Awakens. As a life-long Star Wars fan himself, Wendig has said that he feels privileged to have been given the opportunity to work within the Star Wars universe on the novel, which is due for release in September 2015. If you want to learn more about the author, you can visit his personal website, terribleminds.com. Click here to view the article

New official merchandise has been spotted that suggests C-3PO has had a slight costume change. It's no surprise that some of the cast of The Force Awakens will have changed somewhat from their last Star Wars​ chronological appearance in Return of the Jedi. After all, thirty years have passed and our heroes have gone a little greyer, but intriguingly C-3PO seems to have undergone a color change of his own. Recent pictures of merchandise spotted in Mexico - mainly a promotional Pepsi can design - have shown everybody's favorite protocol droid, C-3PO, sporting an arm painted an unfamiliar shade of red. There was never any secret about Threepio being cobbled together from spare parts, The Phantom Menace showed us a young Anakin Skywalker building him in his mother's house, and more than one of the Star Wars movies have shown him in more than one piece. How C-3PO came to be in possession of this oddly colored arm is not clear, but it does raise further questions about what has been going in the galaxy while we have been away. The same image of the three droids and C-3PO's red arm has also been spotted on other officially licensed products, so the shot appears to be legitimate. Time will tell us whether this is a mistake, a temporary costume change, or something more permanent. View full article

Simon Pegg has tweeted a message that apparently leaks Daniel Craig's secret role in the new Star Wars movie. James Bond actor Daniel Craig has long been rumored to have a cameo appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but fellow actor Simon Pegg has apparently outed the current 007 star as a Stormtrooper while being quizzed on his own involvment in the movie. Pegg quickly followed up his comment by saying "I shouldn't have said that". If true, fans may have trouble spotting Craig in the movie as he will be amongst the ranks of identically-clad Stormtroopers of the First Order. Of course, it's entirely possible (and likely) that his comment was merely a joke, as it has not been officially confirmed. View full article

The Force has finally awakened, and the seventh episode of the Star Wars trilogy has hit movie theatres across the world. But does Star Wars: The Force Awakens live up to the hype and recapture the spirit of Star Wars? Firstly, a word of warning: While this article intends to be free of spoilers, please be aware that any external links or related articles may not be. The Force Awakens was viewed with caution by many fans who wanted a return to the spirit of the classic Star Wars trilogy which many felt was missing from the prequel trilogy, released 15 years previously. As reactions sink in the general feeling seems to be that it has for the most part lived up to the hype, and that director JJ Abrams and his team at Lucasfilm and Disney have delivered on their promise to make Star Wars great again. According to reports, The Force Awakens has already destroyed the UK opening day box office record, with a £9.6 million (US$14.3m) take that smashes the previous record set by Spectre only two months ago. A quarter of these sales where from the midnight release alone, and gives Episode VII of the Star Wars saga a boost to breaking further records as it continues it's run on the big screen. The film itself is holding up well in reviews too, with film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes scoring The Force Awakens an admirable 95% fresh and user reviews showing that 93% of viewers enjoyed the film (at time of writing). While some reviewers have criticised the film for playing fan-service and reusing old ideas, others have praised it for bringing back the feelings of joy they experienced the first time they watched the original trilogy, and carrying with it a sense not only of nostalgia but also of hope for the future. Even the good reviews cast light on the moments where dialogue gets a little cheesy, but for every negative there are more positives; and one of these positives is the casting. Rey (Daisy Ridley), and Finn (John Boyega) work great together on screen and have us rooting for them throughout the action, and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) was not just another copy-and-paste villain as we saw all too often in the prequel trilogy, but a complex character with his own ambitions that occasionally seemed to set him at odds with his superior, Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and other members of the First Order. General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) is menacing as one of the officers of the First Order and parallels can certainly be drawn between him and figures from real world history. BB-8 and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) are sure to be new fan favourites, as they both brings familiar humor and general badass-ness to the film. Familiar faces also make a return, and we discover what Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) have been up to while we were away. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is central to the plot of The Force Awakens, but his role is clearly going to be more prominent in future films. Overall the film delivers much but ultimately leaves us wanting more, and with future films and spin-offs already on the way it is only a matter of time before we return to a galaxy far far away once more. The Force truly is strong with this one. View full article

The official Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been revealed, further teasing the upcoming movie. The official Star Wars website has revealed the official poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens by legendary movie poster artist Drew Struzan. The poster features new and returning characters from the upcoming film, with a notable absence from the poster being Luke Skywalker, and is in the classic style we have grown to love through all of the official posters of the previous episodes of the Star Wars saga. The main focus of the poster appears to be newcomers Rey and Finn, along with the villian Kylo Renn. View full article

The official Star Wars website has revealed the official poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens by legendary movie poster artist Drew Struzan. The poster features new and returning characters from the upcoming film, with a notable absence from the poster being Luke Skywalker, and is in the classic style we have grown to love through all of the official posters of the previous episodes of the Star Wars saga. The main focus of the poster appears to be newcomers Rey and Finn, along with the villian Kylo Renn.

At the Disney's D23 Expo this week, fans were treated to a new The Force Awakens teaser in the form of a poster from Drew Struzan, the artist behind the official posters for all six Star Wars films. Struzan, who had previously retired, has an impressive list of credits to his name, including the iconic movie posters for Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, and The Goonies, and over 150 other movies. Although sources at Disney have stated that the poster seen at D23 is not the final The Force Awakens movie poster, it certainly provides a glimpse of what we can expect. The poster, which features an aged Han Solo, alongside newcomers Rey and Finn, also shows Kylo Renn, TIE fighters, a moisture farm, and curiously three suns in the background. The big new reveal you can take from the poster is the fact that Finn is welding a lightsaber; which, although difficult to see in the poster, appears to be Anakin Skywalker's original lightsaber which was lost by Luke in The Empire Strikes Back. It had already been confirmed that this lightsaber would be one of the plot points of The Force Awakens, but this is the first real confirmation that one of the new characters will be carrying it. Entertainment Weekly has also revealed exclusive new The Force Awakens photographs, which you should probably check out.

Iconic movie poster artist, Drew Struzan has created a new poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which confirms previous rumors about some of the new cast members. At the Disney's D23 Expo this week, fans were treated to a new The Force Awakens teaser in the form of a poster from Drew Struzan, the artist behind the official posters for all six Star Wars films. Struzan, who had previously retired, has an impressive list of credits to his name, including the iconic movie posters for Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, and The Goonies, and over 150 other movies. Although sources at Disney have stated that the poster seen at D23 is not the final The Force Awakens movie poster, it certainly provides a glimpse of what we can expect. The poster, which features an aged Han Solo, alongside newcomers Rey and Finn, also shows Kylo Renn, TIE fighters, a moisture farm, and curiously three suns in the background. The big new reveal you can take from the poster is the fact that Finn is welding a lightsaber; which, although difficult to see in the poster, appears to be Anakin Skywalker's original lightsaber which was lost by Luke in The Empire Strikes Back. It had already been confirmed that this lightsaber would be one of the plot points of The Force Awakens, but this is the first real confirmation that one of the new characters will be carrying it. Entertainment Weekly has also revealed exclusive new The Force Awakens photographs, which you should probably check out. View full article

At the conclusion of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi showed us the final defeat of the Empire with the rebel alliance victory at the Battle of Endor causing celebration across the galaxy. But a new excerpt from Star Wars: Aftermath shows that this celebration may have been a little premature. Aftermath is the latest novel in the new Lucasfilm Story Group approved canon, and is written by science-fiction and fantasy author Chuck Wendig and is part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens series that will fill in the 30-year gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Entertainment Weekly have revealed the first chapter of Aftermath, which details what happened following the rebel victory, including the reaction of the Imperial authorities to the celebrations on Coruscant briefly seen on screen in the revised version of Return of the Jedi, and a rousing speech by Admiral Ackbar urging the citizens of the galaxy not be complacent now that the Emperor is dead. Star Wars: Aftermath is available from 4 September 2015.

The first chapter of upcoming novel Star Wars: Aftermath has been revealed, showing the consequences of the rebel victory in Return of the Jedi. At the conclusion of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi showed us the final defeat of the Empire with the rebel alliance victory at the Battle of Endor causing celebration across the galaxy. But a new excerpt from Star Wars: Aftermath shows that this celebration may have been a little premature. Aftermath is the latest novel in the new Lucasfilm Story Group approved canon, and is written by science-fiction and fantasy author Chuck Wendig and is part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens series that will fill in the 30-year gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Entertainment Weekly have revealed the first chapter of Aftermath, which details what happened following the rebel victory, including the reaction of the Imperial authorities to the celebrations on Coruscant briefly seen on screen in the revised version of Return of the Jedi, and a rousing speech by Admiral Ackbar urging the citizens of the galaxy not be complacent now that the Emperor is dead. Star Wars: Aftermath is available from 4 September 2015. View full article

Star Wars: The Force Awakens wowed attendees of San Diego Comic-Con 2015 this weekend with new information and a peek behind the scenes. Beware of spoilers! Star Wars and Comic-Con have been soul mates since way back in 1976 when Lucasfilm's Charley Lippincott attempted to drum up support for the original Star Wars movie by appealing the the sci-fi and fantasy lovers attending San Diego Comic-Con. It's no surprise then, that the powers that be have chosen to reveal new information about The Force Awakens at this year's event. Attendees this year were treated to a free concert featuring some of the saga's best scores by composer John Williams, with io9 stating that Lucasfilm "took the bar set by other studios in the past and blew it away like the Death Star". If spoilers are not your thing, then you may want to stop reading now, as I delve in to the new reveals from Comic-Con. Domhnall Gleeson's character is called General Hux, and is definitely not a good guy. Hux is the commander of Starkiller Base, which where the First Order has made their headquarters.Simon Pegg does appear to be inside an alien/creature suit in the behind the scenes video, putting rest to the rumors of his involvment in The Force Awakens (which he previously denied).Bobbajo is the name of the nomadic character we saw in JJ Abram's first video from the set of the desert planet we now know as Jakku.The next trailer for The Force Awakens will be ready in the fall.Rogue One will begin filming in three weeks time, according the Kathleen Kennedy, and will be filmed in 6K. Also at San Diego Comic-Con, was this behind the scenes reel, just in case you need a little something extra to hype yourself up for The Force Awakens: View full article