Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Never seen Star Wars? Here's everything you need to know

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The original Star Wars poster (Disney/Lucasfilm)

So, you’ve seen all the advertisements, the articles, the tonnes of internet chatter, but you don’t know why. Your friends can’t stop going on about how they’re super excited to see Luke, Han and Leia again, but you don’t know who they are. ‘Lightsabers’ have been banned from cinemas, but what even is a Lightsaber?

That’s right: you’re one of the few remaining people on this earth to have never seen a Star Wars film, but with with The Force Awakens breaking global records, you want to know what on earth is going on.

Luckily, we’re here to help with this beginners guide to understanding everything Star Wars (and a quick nostalgia trip for everyone who loves the films).

You may be aware that there are three trilogies in the Star Wars saga: the original three films (numbers 4, 5 and 6), the prequel trilogy (1, 2 and 3) and now the sequel trilogy (The Force Awakens, Episode 8 and 9). Confused? Let's begin with the original trilogy.

Note: Throughout there will be spoilers for the first 6 films (not Force Awakens). Ther are the spoilers everyone knows about, but if you know nothing and want to watch the films fresh - well - get out of this guide.

The Original Trilogy - Episodes 4, 5 and 6

This is where it all started. Star Wars was released in 1977 to little to no fanfare: there wasn’t a premier, no one knew who Harrison Ford was and George Lucas had only directed two other films.

The first film released, now subtitled ‘Episode IV: A New Hope’, told the story of Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill), a kid from the desert planet Tatooine living with his uncle and aunt.

Eventually, he gets a message from R2D2 and C3PO (two iconic droids you’ve likely heard of) asking someone to help Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). Spurred on by the wise old man Ben Kenobi (also know as Obi-Wan), Luke enlists the help of the dashing rogue Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to go rescue Leia from the clutches of Darth Vader and the evil Empire.

Throughout the rest of the three films, the gang join The Resistance (the set of rebels attempting to go up against the Empire), Luke trains to be a Jedi Knight, learns who his father is and attempts to return order to The Force.

STTTTOOOPPPP. Wow, sorry there, bit too much jargon in one sentence. Let's keep this basic.

Luke’s the good guy here! And throughout the three original films (also including Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and VI: Return of the Jedi) we see his transformation from lonely boy shooting womp rats to sword-wielding hero who saves the universe.

In Episode V, after Luke and the Resistance (the good guy army) hit some substantial blows against the Empire (the bad guys), we learn the main villain (who is trying to control the universe) the masked Darth Vader is Luke's father (say whaaaaat). Before being Darth Vader he was known as Anakin Skywalker (but more on that later).

Then, in episode VI, we learn that Princess Leia is his long-lost twin sister, the two having been separated at birth (say whaaaaat, again).

What I’m getting at here is these three episodes are one big family affair in which Luke learns who his father and sister are. It’s a soap opera, as George Lucas would say.

However, it's not that easy, as Luke struggles to stop his father from conquering the galaxy. Eventually, after a lot of family arguments, Darth Vader and Luke team up to destroy the Emperor - the man in charge of Darth Vader and the Empire - and peace is restored.

Han and Leia get it on, Luke is as happy as he can be having just watched his father die, and C3PO is as awkward as ever.

Hold up. What’s a Jedi? And what’s the Force?

Ok, lets go back a bit. The Force is this mystical energy inside everything that can be controlled by certain people.

Those people can use The Force to control objects and sense what is going on around them. Here’s a quick video featuring Yoda - a Jedi master who helps train Luke - explain to Luke what The Force is.

Now, Yoda is a Jedi Knight. These are the people who wield The Force for good. They also have blue or green (or purple) Lightsabers: those ‘light swords’ you have probably seen people waving around.

Here’s another clip, this time of the battle between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which the Jedi Knight gives his life to become one with The Force.

Ok. So what’s a Sith then? And 'The Empire'?

A Sith is the bad version of a Jedi, one who has been overcome with hate. Darth Vader was a Sith Lord, and his master, Emperor Palpatine is a Sith master.

They use the 'dark side' of The Force, allowing them to do horrible things the Jedi could never do. In other words, the light and dark sides of The Force make it easy to tell who is good and evil.

It should be noted there are always two Sith: one the master while the other a learner (padawan). The same is true of Jedi Knights: there is a master and a learner.

The Empire, meanwhile, are the cannon fodder bad guys. Those fellas shooting at Luke, Leia and Han at the end of that video: those are Stormtroopers. Their leader is Darth Vader, who has his own master, the Emperor, as discussed.

Here is the very first time we meet Emporer Palpatine in the original trilogy, in hologram form (he’s regular size normally). Don’t get confused, Darth Vader IS Anakin Skywalker, but they talk about him in the third person because ‘Anakin is dead to them’, replaced by Darth Vader.

Ok, Ok. So let's get everything straight.

So yes, before we move on. Darth Vader, the Sith Lord, is Luke Skywalker's father. Darth’s master is the Emperor. Both Darth and the Emperor end up dead by the time Episode VI finishes, with peace seemingly restored by Luke, his sister Leia, and her new lover Han Solo.

Wait, can we go over who Han Solo is quickly.

For Sure. He's a pretty major part of the whole thing and plays and huge role in The Force Awakens. As said earlier, Luke hires him to take him to Princess Leia (who he doesn't know is his sister at this stage).

He's a rogue, always out to get money and always in trouble with someone. As much as he doesn't want to help Luke, he eventually fights alongside the Resistance to take down the Empire, helping them out on a number of occasions.

Harrison Ford's charm and charisma in the role would eventually land him the role of Indiana Jones in Steven Spielberg's epic trilogy. It should also be mentioned Han travels the galaxy with Chewbacca, the walking carpet.

If there’s that much to know about the original trilogy, there must be loads to learn about the prequels.

Not really. Basically, they tell the story of how Darth Vader - or Anakin Skywalker in these films - went from sweet young boy to evil Sith.

Basically, Emperor Palpatine is an undercover senator who manipulates Anakin into becoming a Sith. There’s also a load of Jedi Knights who get killed in the Clone Wars, except Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda who go into hiding.

Before he disappears, Obi-Wan hides Anakin’s children from him because - you know - he’s a psychotic killer by this stage, leaving Luke and Leia at different ends of the galaxy. Here's a ten minute supercut.

Which of these characters will be in The Force Awakens?

Luke is going to be there, as is Leia and Han Solo. The new bad guys also want to carry on The Emperor and Darth Vader’s dream of conquering the galaxy. However, they’re not called the Empire, as they get destroyed at the end of the last film.

Instead, the new villains are the First Order, led by Emperor Snoke (a new CGI villain). There’s also the new villain Kylo Ren, who looks a lot like Darth Vader but isn’t him.

He is part of a new cult - called The Knights of Ren - who are attempting to keep Vader’s legacy going, working with The New Order to achieve their goal.

The three main leads in the new film - John Boyega’s Finn, Daisy Ridley’s Rey and Oscar Isaac’s Poe - have also all been linked to Luke, Leia and Han, so expect some more Skywalker family action. Oh, and R2D2 and C3PO will be there.

Anything else?

There’s a whole lot more. To be honest, it was difficult cutting this down anymore. Just go watch original trilogy, they’re great. The prequels, not so much.