Yes, there was less than a minute and a half of footage in that teaser, but as die-hard Star Wars fans, that’s more than enough to dig into. Here are 14 things you might’ve missed in the trailer for Episode VII.
1. The music in the trailer was composed by John Williams.
Williams did the scores for all six Star Wars films. He’s also responsible for the music of the Superman, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter movies, to name a few.
2. The voiceover was done by Andy Serkis.
But we still have no idea who he’s playing.
3. You can hear an Imperial Probe Droid.
In the trailer’s opening shot (the one with John Boyega’s character), you can hear the sound of the Imperial droid at around 23 seconds. Listen to it here, and compare it to the sound effects from Empire Strikes Back below.
4. John Boyega’s stormtrooper uniform has a weird black dot on the back.
Some fans speculate that it may be related to the symbol worn by the Empire’s special forces units in the comics. Here’s the image that got that theory rolling (via The Star Wars Gamers):
5. The rolling ball droid is based on early Ralph McQuarrie concepts for R2-D2.
Here’s how McQuarrie described his initial vision for the character:
“I think Artoo was just described as a small robot. I thought of him as running on a giant ball bearing — just a sphere, a circle, wheel-like. He had gyros so he could go in any direction on this ball.”
6. Behind the ball droid appear to be podracer engines.
For example, compare the one on the right to the design of the engines from The Phantom Menace. Could this be more evidence that the desert planet is in fact Tatooine?
7. Star Wars: Rebels revealed that stormtroopers are no longer clones, but recruited humans.
The Clones from the prequel trilogy age at approximately twice the rate of normal humans, meaning most of them would have been dead long before Episode VII.
8. This is the first American feature film for actress Daisy Ridley.
To date, she has only had one on-screen appearance in a feature film, a 2014 indie horror movie called Scrawl.
9. The archway Daisy Ridley’s character is heading towards looks like it was inspired by Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art for Jabba’s Palace.
Here they are side-by-side for comparison.
10. The text on the X-Wing fighter’s vest reads: “Pull to Inflate.”
It is written in upside-down Aurebesh, the fictional Star Wars alphabet. The pilot is played by Oscar Isaac.
11. The X-Wing fighters have a different wing configuration than the original trilogy’s T-65 models
In addition to a new engine placement, these ships’ S-foils look like they fold together and interlock to form one wing, as opposed to the “stacked” design from the original trilogy.
12. A lightsaber with a crossguard first appeared in the comic book Star Wars: Republic 61: Dead Ends.
The book takes place in the Clone Wars era, and was published in 2004. Details on the weapon were subsequently published in the Jedi Academy Training Manual, a tabletop RPG supplement.
13. The Millennium Falcon is sporting a new radar dish, after the original was knocked off in Return of the Jedi
The original round radar dish was destroyed during the escape from the second Death Star’s reactor.
14. The sound at the end of the trailer is Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber igniting.
Disney has confirmed that the lightsaber sound is specifically Luke Skywalker’s. You can hear it at approximately 1:28.
