Force Awakens Bits: What We've Learned From The Books, Fans Are Waiting 12 Days In Line, BB-8 Poster And Much More

c3po Anthony Daniels star wars the force awakens jj abrams header

By Peter ScirettaDec. 9, 2015 7:00 am EST

Another day, another post filled with Star Wars: The Force Awakens goodness. In today's edition:

A new Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster featuring BB-8.

Find out why fans are waiting 12 days in line to see The Force Awakens at the Chinese Theatre.

Will The Force Awakens have a love story?

What we've learned about The Force Awakens from the books.

See an image of Max Von Sydow's character Lor San Tekka.

Why "the light side" of the Force was officially introduced for the new movie.

See a new behind-the-scenes photo of Anthony Daniels (cropped above) and learn how he ended up owning pieces from the original Millennium Falcon.

Information on Finn's backstory as a First Order Stormtrooper revealed in a book preview.

All this and more. Hit the jump to hyperspace!

BB-8 Character Poster

Disney has released a new Star Wars: The Force Awakens character poster featuring BB-8.

What We've Learned About The Force Awakens From the Books

Vulture has an awesome in-depth article about what we've learned about Star Wars: The Force Awakens from the bevy of new books (all considered canon) that have been released so far. Here are a few tidbits:

Aftermath: The main point is to emphasize that, despite the ending of Return of the Jedi, the Empire has not been entirely defeated. The Rebellion has transformed into the New Republic, which identifies itself as a democracy; and the new Galactic Senate is led by Mon Mothma. Boba Fett is dead, and someone buys his Mandalorian battle armor. The Hutts have still not figured out who will succeed Jabba. In Cloud City, the oppressed rise up against the rich and powerful, some of whom refuse to believe reports of Emperor Palpatine's death.

Lost Stars: The final chapters of the book occur during the Battle of Jakku, one year after the destruction of the second Death Star at the end of Return of the Jedi.

Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure: Leia has a new droid, PZ-4CO, who is a "tall, blue-plated protocol droid." She is nicknamed Peazy.

The Perfect Weapon: We learn more about Bazine, who's slated to appear in the film at Maz Kanata's castle, but that's about it.

High Noon on Jakku: Jakku is mostly a hub for scrappers and traders, and Niima is the only substantial outpost on the planet. We learn (not much) more about Zuvio, who is a good but tough lawkeeper.

The Face of Evil: Maz Kanata's castle is introduced. "It's creepy, and it's got two nonverbal plastic surgeons performing gross experiments on live subjects."

All Creatures Great and Small: Bobbajo is great at talking to animals. He dispatches the small creatures to take out Stormtroopers and pirates, as well as work ship controls.

The Crimson Corsair and the Lost Treasure of Count Dooku: Crimson Corsair, who appears in the film at Maz Kanata's castle, is basically indestructible. He gets attacked by a giant sand worm in the middle of a treacherous desert and manages to make it out alive.

Head over to Vulture to read a lot more.

Fans are now in line for #StarWars 7pm Dec 17 @ChineseTheatres look at that Carbonite brownie! pic.twitter.com/ZSqeZO2AXn

— Meltdown Comics (@MeltdownComics) December 5, 2015

Fans Are Already in Line for The Force Awakens

Yes, fans have already begun lining up for Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Los Angeles at the famous Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The New York Times has a profile on those already in line, here is a brief excerpt:

There are rules — tents must be erected by midnight and dismantled by 6 a.m. — and there is a system that allows people to leave for short periods while keeping their place in line; fans take turns managing a clipboard system for checking in and checking out. Everyone wears a name badge, and some fans created a line-related website. They even have a charity partner, Starlight Children's Foundation, which is focused on helping seriously ill children and teenagers. (Those gawking tourists are encouraged to contribute to the foundation by sending text messages; some give cash on the spot.)

Those at the front of the line will have waited over 12 days to see the film.

Will The Force Awakens Have a Love Story?

Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, talked to BadTaste.it about whether there is room for romance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The question comes about 1 minute in. Here is Ridley's answer:

I don't think there needs to be a love story in The Force Awakens to make it emotional and to make relationships happen. Thats not to say there isn't love involved. But the love that is mainly concentrated on is the love between friends and thats wonderful.

Anthony Daniels Owns Pieces of the Original Millennium Falcon

Vulture has a good feature on C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels which we've been meaning to feature (which includes the new behind-the-scenes image seen above). There isn't really any new information but its an interesting read. Here is an excerpt where Daniels talks about how he still owns pieces from the original Millennium Falcon:

Daniels was a witness to the original ship's destruction. "Do you know I own six pieces of the Millennium Falcon?" he says shortly after we meet at a bookstore near his home. He's just bumped into a Lucasfilm employee who is in town to work on Rogue One, one of three spinoffs Disney will release during the core trilogy's off years. "I found them burning it on the back lot one day," Daniels says of the Falcon. The staffer shakes his head: "The industry was very willing to destroy its own history for many years. Now there's the realization that —" "It can make you money," Daniels interjects. "There's a lot of value," says the employee.

Why the "Light Side" of the Force Was Officially Introduced for The New Movie

Mashable points out that Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduces "the light side of the Force," something that over the course of six films, from Star Wars (1977) to Revenge of the Sith (2005), has never been referred to other than just as "the Force." They talked to writer/director J.J. Abrams about this change and here is what he said:

I don't know if it was so explicit, but I always felt like it was implicit: The idea that the Force was this one thing, but there was a dark 'side' of the Force. And that was always the temptation of power and greed, and yet — it didn't feel like it was a separate thing, but it was all inclusive. You know, it's almost like the flipside of the coin.

Finn's Backstory Revealed

iTunes has revealed some preview pages for the Before The Awakening book by Greg Rucka which gives us some information about Finn's backstory. It confirms an earlier report that his name is actually FN-2187, and talks about how the Stormtroopers train in the First Order.

First Look at Max Von Sydow's Character Lor San Tekka

Some new preview pages from upcoming books have revealed some plot spoilers for The Force Awakens. We won't post those pages here, but above you can see an illustrated image of Max Von Sydow's character Lor San Tekka meeting Oscar Issac's Poe Dameron. I blocked out the text with story description. Click here if you want to see more, you have been warned (via MSW).