The Final 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Trailer Is Here

The release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is being positioned as a cultural event, and it's the rare movie whose very existence earns that kind of hype. It certainly feels like the blockbuster event of the decade, the movie that every geek and norm alike wants to see. As a movie fan, you have to see it out of obligation... so it's a good thing that you probably already want to see it. In fact, you probably already knew that the final trailer was going to arrive today and have come here to find it. Welcome. This is the post you're looking for. The new Star Wars trailer is here.

You can watch the final Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer after the jump, but you don't need to be told that. You clicked it before you even finished reading this sentence.

Set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens finds a galaxy torn asunder by the ongoing conflict between the Resistance (formerly the Rebel Alliance) and the First Order (formerly the Empire). The story features some familiar faces, but much of the focus will be on a new batch of heroes and villains who will drive the Star Wars saga into the future.

Noted Star Wars fanboy J.J. Abrams is in the director's chair this time around. He co-wrote the screenplay with Lawrence Kasdan, making his grand return to the saga 35 years after penning The Empire Strikes Back. Original Star Wars mastermind George Lucas is not involved, which is equally melancholic and a reason to remain optimistic.

The film sees the return of Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Anthony Daniels as C3-PO and R2-D2 as, well, himself. However, it is the fresh faces that have fans so very curious. On the light side of the Force, we have John Boyega as Finn, a former stormtrooper; Daisy Ridley as Rey, a tough scavenger on the desert planet of Jakku; and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, an ace X-Wing pilot. On the dark side, there's Adam Driver as the the masked and mysterious Kylo Ren, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, and Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, whose chrome Stormtrooper armor makes her the coolest-looking Star Wars character since Boba Fett.

Oh, and there's also BB-8. You know, the cutest robot ever.

We'll be going in extreme detail on the trailer in another post, so we'll keep our thoughts here succinct and to-the-point. This is one seriously impressive piece of marketing. Filled with impressive action beats and spine-tingling moments, the trailer feels carefully engineered to get Star Wars fans weepy and/or giddy. John Williams' familiar music carries some of the load, but Abrams' visuals and those actors, both new and old, certainly have our attention.

This trailer offers a few firsts. Our first look at Fisher's Leia Organa outside of the poster. Our first time hearing Ridley and Boyega speak while not in toy form (she keeps her British accent, he's gone American). That voiceover belongs to Lupita Nyong'o, who will be playing a motion capture alien in the film. And, interestingly, we get another glimpse of that big lightsaber duel between Kylo Ren and Finn, and the Sith fanboy isn't wearing his mask. Take from that what you will.

But once again, the trailer's biggest moment is saved for Harrison Ford, who gets to tell our astonished newbies that every legend they've heard (the Force, the Jedi, etc.) is all true. He should know – he was there.

This new trailer arrives hot on the heels of the new poster and it signals the start of ticket pre-sales. If you want to see this one at midnight, you'll have to move fast. Theaters are going fill up quickly. For the hardcore fans, there is the complete saga marathon, which will begin on December 17 at 4:00 a.m. with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and conclude later that evening with a 7:00 p.m. screening of The Force Awakens. Those who make it through will have bragging rights for at least a few months. This is your chance to shine, nerds!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will arrive in theaters on December 18, 2015. Everyone you know and everyone you don't know will see it... unless those Chipmunks have their way.