'Star Wars: The Force Awakens': What We Know So Far
— -- With exactly a month to go to the official release of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," here's a round-up of what we know so far about this highly-anticipated movie. One Yoda-esque truth remains: "There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns."
Such is the case with "The Force Awakens," which was directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, a fanboy himself, who knows that loose lips sink starships.
Much of the movie's plot and many of its characters still remain a mystery, but here's what's out there:
The Bad Guys
The First Order — Officially, The First Order is the name of the military junta that replaced, and was inspired by, the Galactic Empire. You'll recall the Empire fell following the death of its leader, Emperor Palpatine, at the hands of his apprentice Darth Vader, and the destruction of the second Death Star and the Rebel victory in the Battle of Endor. All that happened in "Return of the Jedi."
Supreme Leader Snoke — Head of the First Order, played by Andy Serkis via the motion-capture technology he pioneered playing Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings" series, and later as Caesar in the "Planet of the Apes" films. We don't know what he looks like, but Serkis told Entertainment Weekly, "He has a very distinctive, idiosyncratic bone structure and facial structure."
Kylo Ren — One of Snoke's enforcers, played by "Girls" star Adam Driver. He's a Force-sensitive baddie who idolizes the fallen Dark Vader. Ren is apparently not a Sith, but a member of a group called the Knights of Ren, who idolize the Sith.
Captain Phasma — Leader of a specialist squad of the First Order Stormtroopers, played by Gwendoline Christie of "Game of Thrones" fame.
General Hux -- Played by Domhnall Gleason, described as "merciless."
Our Heroes
Finn — Played by John Boyega, he's a Stormtrooper who lost his faith in his former comrades, and ends up fighting for the Resistance.
Leia — Carrie Fisher returns and her title of Princess has apparently fallen out of favor. Director J.J. Abrams tells EW, "She’s referred to as General."
Han Solo — Played as always by Harrison Ford, and he hasn't lost his swagger. Ford told EW, "There's a lot of the rogue still left in Solo. Some things don't change."
Rey — Played by Daisy Ridley, she's a scavenger who was abandoned by her parents on the planet Jakku and grew up alone. She told The Hollywood Reporter, "She's brave and smart...she's not a superhero. She's a normal girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances, so it's very relatable."
Chewbacca — Peter Mayhew again plays the woolly Wookiee, who is presumably still repaying his life debt to Ford's Solo, at his side on the battlefield and in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
Luke Skywalker — Mark Hamill's Jedi wasn't pictured on the poster of "The Force Awakens," leading fans to wonder why. Abrams explained to EW, "No one forgot about him! Luke is a very important aspect of the story."
Maz Kanata - Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o used motion-capture to bring to life this thousand-year-old space pirate, who is a tiny, goggle-wearing alien.
We'll find out how all these people fit into the puzzle when "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" premieres Dec. 18. The movie is produced by Lucasfilm, a subsidiary of Disney, which is the parent company of ABC News.
