Well there’s quite a bit of plot in the new Star Wars trailer actually.
You’ve got Rey, the young woman who thinks she is “no one”–I bet that will turn out to be false.
You’ve got Finn–apparently a reformed storm trooper who gets his hands on a Jedi light saber. He may not actually be a storm trooper but that seems to be the conventional wisdom.
Whoever they are, the story is centered around them. Our older, grayer heroes will guide them. But the adventure of the entire trilogy will probably belong to Rey and Finn.
Then there is the villain, Kylo Ren. This generation’s Darth Vader. He is young like Rey and Finn but, unlike them, past-oriented. He worships the idea of Darth Vader, a person he’s probably never met but has been taught about, and he wants to continue Vadar’s cause.
Now the editorializing:
On the positive side, I love the diversity of the heroes. I love that Kasdan and Abrams are building a new story around new heroes, not just replaying a Luke and Han adventure. It offers a lot of potential. I’m encouraged by the generational take. Young people, listless, trying to survive in a cut throat Universe, choosing the good or the dark side. There are some timeless themes here that just might happen to be pretty timely without being a cloying allegory about “kids these days” i.e., read Millennials.
On the negative side… anymore I always worry about the villains in modern Hollywood movies. Why are there still storm troopers 30 years after the Empire was apparently defeated? If it wasn’t defeated, what exactly did we see in Return of the Jedi? And why does Ren have a fascination with Vader? If he’s truly going to the dark side, when he says “I will finish what you started” shouldn’t he be talking about the emperor? Or does this character exist simply to tap into fans’ love of Vader, and to also be an updated version of that character for new viewers. This part feels a bit contrived.