"Star Wars" fans came out in full Force to see the first glimpse of director J.J. Abrams' eagerly-waited Episode VII of the biggest sci-fi franchise of all time.
“There has been an awakening in the Force, have you felt it?” says a voiceover that opens the 88-seconds of nerdy goodness as John Boyega’s newly introduced hero looks anxious in stormtrooper armor on the desert landscape of what appears to be Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine.
With that opening salvo, fans definitely felt something.
With more than a year to go until the film’s Dec. 18, 2015, release date, there were few finished special effects shots to show off, but the trailer featured the requisite shot of the iconic Millennium Falcon evading-pursuing TIE fighters with the full glory of the John Williams score behind it.
But perhaps the most impressive part of the footage was the brief glimpse in shadow of the film’s new villain, a Sith sporting a red cross-shaped lightsaber with a very deadly hilt.
The trailer is also unspooling in 30 movie theaters around the country – two of which, the Regal Union Square 14 and AMC Lincoln Square 12, are in Manhattan – through the weekend.
The first installment in a new trilogy, "The Force Awakens," also sees the return of original "Star Wars" trilogy stars Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3P0), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Kenny Baker (R2-D2).
Newcomers Boyega, Daisy Ridley Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o and Andy Serkis round out the cast.
