A Bridge and a Reminder

The Force Awakens, Between Repetition and Expansion

Abstract

Reviving the Star Wars film franchise, after Disney acquired Lucasfilm, meant kick-starting a new trilogy that worked as a link between the old films and a new phase. The result was The Force Awakens, a sequel to a 30 year-old trilogy, whose characteristics are not those of a conventional sequel because it exhibits a very strong connection to the original Star Wars film, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977). This essay navigates through the ways that allow for repetition, continuity and change to be intertwined within The Force Awakens, as the film fluctuates between designations and does not allow for easy labeling.