So you want to see the biggest movie of the year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (in theaters Dec. 18), but you somehow managed to go your whole life without watching any other Star Wars movies? Well, come out from under your rock, because we’re here to share 5 extremely basic things you need to know about the Star Wars universe before going to the theater this Christmas. Read on so you can blend in as well as Luke Skywalker’s prosthetic hand (we’ll get to that):
1. There are three “original” movies which came out before the three “prequel” movies. People tend to think the former are better.
The first Star Wars (later subtitled A New Hope) made its debut in 1977. Two sequels followed: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Those three movies, which followed protagonists Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford), are also referred to as Episodes IV, V and VI, respectively. Then, there was a 16-year gap before the next Star Wars film, The Phantom Menace (1999), the first of three prequels. Two more films (both depicting events before A New Hope) followed: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). The prequels are Episodes I, II and III, and they focus on Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd and thenHayden Christensen), Padme Amadala (Natalie Portman), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, who’s also in the original films played by Alec Guinness) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). The originals are generally held in a higher regard than the prequels by the fans, partially because of the prequels’ denser plots, heavy CGI and fewer practical effects. Chronologically, The Force Awakens is Episode VII, and is set about 30 years after Return of the Jedi.
2. Luke and Leia, in the original films, are the children of Padme and Anakin, from the prequels. This makes for awkwardness.
Leia, who’s a princess when we meet her in A New Hope, is related to Luke, who works on a farm with his aunt and uncle at the start of the movie. The characters don’t find out until Return of the Jedi that they are actually long-lost twins who were adopted by different families. This is a very surprising revelation, considering Luke crushed on Leia when he first saw her, and Leia planted a kiss on Luke’s lips in The Empire Strikes Back (though it was mostly to make Han Solo jealous). Their parents are Padme, a queen and senator who died (of something like a broken heart) after giving birth to them, and Anakin, who abandoned them, because he turned to the Dark Side.
3. There’s a debate about whether ‘Han Solo shot first’.
Han, a smuggler-turned-good guy worthy of Leia’s affections in the original films, is introduced about halfway through A New Hope in a cantina. While in the cantina, he’s approached by a bounty hunter called Greedo and the two have a confrontation. In the 1977 theatrical version of Star Wars, Han fires before Greedo gets the chance to shoot at Han. In later versions of the movie, the scene is changed to show the two shooting at the same time, or Greedo firing a split-second before Han. This edited scene has spurred much debate among Star Wars fans, because many think that it’s important for Han to have shot first, in order for his character arc (going from not-so-nice guy to hero) to be better. Creator George Lucas disagrees.
4. Chewbacca and Han Solo are BFFs.
Han owns the Millennium Falcon ship, which he flies with co-pilot Chewbacca, nicknamed “Chewie.” Chewie is a 7-foot-tall Wookiee, a hairy, bipedal mammal who speaks in growls. The two encounter Luke and Obi-Wan, a Jedi master, in a cantina in A New Hope (the same one Han shot Greedo in), and go on to join them, and later Leia, in Rebel attacks against the evil Empire. (As we’ve seen in the Force Awakens teasers, Han and Chewie are still buddies.)
5. Leia loves Han. He knows.
After being too shy to admit their love for one another, Leia does eventually tell the “scoundrel” (as she calls him) Han that she loves him, before he gets frozen in carbonite in Empire Strikes Back. His memorable response? “I know.” Leia gets to say the “I know” line back to Han in Return of the Jedi.
Courtesy: InStep Today (The News)
