Generally one would wait until after seeing a movie to speak much of it, but we’ve waited long enough for the next episode in the star wars saga. The film, coming out next Friday, December 18^th, will no doubt be received very differently by different people. When it was originally announced that the epic, original trilogy would have yet another set of follow ups, there were plenty of mixed emotions. While no fan can deny wanting to see more of the far away galaxy so near and dear to our hearts, the knowledge of how the last three movie prequels went and the fact that it will be Disney calling the shots this time around haven’t helped ease people’s fears.

Luckily, the people behind the films did a few things right this time. For one: instead of getting a doomed prequel, movie goers will enter the theater without knowing how the story will end. Possibly one of the most annoying parts of episodes one, two, and three is that the viewer knows from the beginning how it will end. The problem wasn’t so much that it was a prequel as it was that the story focused on a character that we knew would have to follow a predictable scheme of character development. This time around, the movie will be set thirty years after the events of Return of the Jedi, and it will be introducing new characters, who’s stories have yet to be told.

On the flip side, however, there is the promise of seeing beloved old characters (and the original actors who played them) returning once again to the big screen. For sheer nostalgic reasons alone, Star Wars Episode VII will be a must see; the promise of seeing Han Solo and Chewy along with R2D2 and Luke Skywalker making their reappearance is too good to pass by, and will no doubt give The Force Awakens the star power to start off the new trilogy right.

The Force Awakens will undoubtedly be a box office hit (you may have heard of people pre-ordering tickets for weeks, even months now), but will it be as good as movie goers hope? It’s a sequel thirty years too late. That being said, Lucasfilm and Disney seem to be pouring everything they’ve got into it, and if they are can muster up anywhere near the same amount of love and attention into creating it that fans felt when watching the originals it is bound to be a spectacle worthy of its name.