A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a helmetless storm trooper appeared in frame, panicked and sweaty in the middle of vast desert landscape – Abu Dhabi's desert landscape – kicking off the first official look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
After months of leaked images and idle speculation around director JJ Abrams’ film, part of which was filmed in a top-secret shoot outside of the capital, Disney and Lucasfilm on Friday debuted an 88-second teaser trailer for the seventh entry into the blockbuster franchise online and in about 30 North American theatres.
The dark, energetic teaser, which had been watched more than 14 million times on YouTube a day after its release, blasts viewers with quick, disjointed images of classic and slightly altered Star Wars images, like TIE Fighters, X-Wings, droids and the Millennium Falcon, set to a new John Williams score. Audiences get a peek at newcomers John Boyega (the storm trooper in question), Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac and a mysterious caped man in a frozen forest carrying a three-pronged light sabre. Many assume the sinister figure to be the Girls actor Adam Driver, who is rumoured to be playing the villain.
Andy Serkis is responsible for the haunting voice-over narration throughout the short spot, which previews a world 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi.
"That Star Wars trailer gave me the tingles," director Edgar Wright said on Twitter.
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn wrote: "Because everyone keeps asking me my opinion, I LOVED the Star Wars trailer. It infused me with a giddy-little-kidness."
Commenters on the long- standing Star Wars fan site TheForce.net were similarly delighted by the visuals, which seemed to pay homage to the grungy aesthetic of George Lucas's original trilogy.
There may have been no plot clues, but fan interest has certainly been piqued with the exciting array of images and the notable lack of original cast members Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford.
• For more on the Star Wars trailer, go to www.thenational.ae/blogs/scene-heard