PLOT

Thirty years after the Galactic Civil War, the First Order has risen from the fallen Galactic Empire and seeks to end the New Republic. The Resistance, backed by the Republic and led by General Leia Organa, opposes the First Order. Leia searches for her brother, Luke Skywalker, who has gone missing.

On the desert planet Jakku, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron receives a map to Luke's place from Lor San Tekka. Stormtroopers commanded by Kylo Ren raid the village and capture Poe, while Kylo kills San Tekka. Poe's droid, BB-8, escapes with the map and encounters a scavenger named Rey. Kylo tortures Poe using the Force and learns of BB-8. Stormtrooper FN-2187, disillusioned by the First Order, frees Poe, and they escape in a stolen TIE fighter. Upon learning that FN-2187 has no other name, Poe gives him the name "Finn". As they head to Jakku to retrieve BB-8, a First Order Star Destroyer shoots them, and they crash-land. Finn survives and assumes that Poe died in the crash. He encounters Rey and BB-8, but the First Order tracks them and launches an airstrike. Rey, Finn, and BB-8 steal the Millennium Falcon and escape the planet.

The Falcon gets discovered and boarded by Han Solo and Chewbacca. Gangs seeking to settle debts with Han attack, but the group escape in the Falcon. At the First Order's Starkiller Base, a planet converted into a superweapon, Supreme Leader Snoke allows General Hux to use the weapon for the first time. Snoke questions Kylo's ability to deal with emotions on his father, Han Solo, who Kylo states means nothing to him.

Aboard the Falcon, Han determines that BB-8's map is incomplete. He then explains that Luke attempted to rebuild the Jedi Order but exiled himself when an apprentice turned to the dark side, destroyed the temple, and slaughtered the other apprentices. The crew travels to the planet Takodana and meets with cantina owner Maz Kanata, who offers help getting BB-8 to the Resistance. The Force draws Rey to a secluded vault, where she finds the lightsaber once belonging to Luke and his father, Anakin Skywalker. She experiences disturbing visions and flees into the woods, confused and terrified. Maz gives Finn the lightsaber for safekeeping.

Starkiller Base destroys the New Republic and its fleet. The First Order attacks Takodana in search of BB-8. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn are saved by Resistance X-wing fighters led by Poe, who survived the crash. Leia arrives at Takodana with C-3PO and reunites with Han. Meanwhile, Kylo captures Rey and takes her to Starkiller Base, but she resists his mind-reading attempts. Snoke orders Kylo to bring Rey to him. Discovering she can use the Force, Rey escapes using a Jedi mind trick on a guard.

At the Resistance base on D'Qar, BB-8 finds R2-D2, who had been inactive since Luke's disappearance. As Starkiller Base prepares to fire once more, the Resistance devises a plan to destroy it by attacking its thermal oscillator. Using the Falcon, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate the facility, find Rey, and plant explosives. Han confronts Kylo and implores him to abandon the dark side. Kylo seems to consider this, but ultimately refuses and kills his father. Devastated, Chewbacca shoots Kylo and sets off the explosives, allowing Poe to attack and destroy the base's thermal oscillator.

The injured Kylo pursues Finn and Rey into the woods. Finn fights Kylo with the lightsaber to protect Rey before Kylo knocks him unconscious. Rey takes the lightsaber and channels the Force to defeat Kylo in a duel; they are then separated by a fissure as the planet's surface begins to splinter. Snoke orders Hux to evacuate and bring Kylo to him to complete his training. Chewbacca rescues Rey and the unconscious Finn, and they escape aboard the Falcon. As the Resistance forces flee, Starkiller Base implodes. R2-D2 awakens and reveals the rest of the map, which Rey uses to find the oceanic planet Ahch-To in the Falcon.

On Ahch-To, Rey finds Luke atop a cliff on a remote island. Without a word, she presents him with his father's lightsaber.

CAST

Harrison Ford as Han Solo

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker

Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren

Daisy Ridley as Rey

Cailey Fleming as young Rey

John Boyega as Finn

Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron

Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata

Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke

Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux

Anthony Daniels as C-3PO

Max von Sydow as Lor San Tekka: A retired adventurer on Jakku, aiding the Resistance in finding Skywalker.

Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca

Tim Rose and Mike Quinn reprise their respective roles as Admiral Ackbar and Nien Nunb from Return of the Jedi, with Erik Bauersfeld and Kipsang Rotich returning their respective voices. Kenny Baker, originally announced as part of the cast, was credited as "consultant" for R2-D2, with Jimmy Vee performing some of the work for R2-D2. Ewan McGregor has an uncredited vocal cameo as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Rey's vision sequence, while archival audio of Frank Oz and Alec Guinness as Yoda and Kenobi, respectively, are also used in the same scene; Oz recorded new dialogue for the film, but it was replaced with preexisting audio from The Empire Strikes Back.

Gwendoline Christie portrays Captain Phasma, the commander of the First Order's legions of stormtroopers. Dave Chapman and Brian Herring served as puppeteers for BB-8, with Bill Hader and Ben Schwartz credited as "Vocal Consultants". Ken Leung appears as Statura, an admiral in the Resistance. Simon Pegg appears as Unkar Plutt, the Junk parts dealer on Jakku. Greg Grunberg plays Temmin "Snap" Wexley, an X-wing pilot. Kiran Shah plays Teedo, a scavenger on Jakku who rides a semi-mechanical Luggabeast. Jessica Henwick appears as Jess "Testor" Pava or Jess Testor, an X-wing pilot. Brian Vernel appears as Bala-Tik, the leader of the Guavian Death Gang. Yayan Ruhian and Iko Uwais appear as Tasu Leech and Razoo Qin-Fee, members of the Kanjiklub Gang, a criminal organization. Warwick Davis appears as Wollivan, a tavern-dweller in Maz Kanata's castle. Anna Brewster appears as Bazine Netal, a First Order spy, also at Maz Kanata's castle. Hannah John-Kamen appears as a First Order officer. Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Kate Fleetwood play First Order Petty Officers, Thanisson and Unamo, respectively. Billie Lourd, daughter of Carrie Fisher, appears as Connix, a lieutenant in the Resistance. Members of the Resistance include Emun Elliott as Brance and Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Korr Sella while Harriet Walter appears as Kalonia, the doctor who tends to Chewbacca. Mark Stanley appears as a Knight of Ren. Sebastian Armesto portrays Lieutenant Mitaka and Pip Torrens portrays Colonel Kaplan, both serving the First Order.

Daniel Craig, Michael Giacchino, and Nigel Godrich cameo as stormtroopers. Abrams' assistant, Morgan Dameron, appears as a Resistance officer, while his father, Gerald W. Abrams, appears as Captain Cypress. The film's dialect coach, Andrew Jack, appears as Major Ematt of the Resistance. Additionally, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Christina Chong, Miltos Yerolemou, Amybeth Hargreaves, Leanne Best, Judah Friedlander, and Kevin Smith appear in minor roles. Riot control stormtrooper FN-2199, who calls Finn a traitor during the battle on Takodana, was portrayed by stunt performer Liang Yang and voiced by sound editor David Acord.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

also known as Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens

the first installment in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following Return of the Jedi (1983), and the seventh episode of the nine-part "Skywalker saga"