Star Wars: The Force Awakens was Disney’s first venture into theatrical movies in a galaxy far, far away, and proved to be a film that changed everything for the franchise in a myriad of ways. Returning live-action Star Wars to the big screen for the first time since 2005, Star Wars: The Force Awakens faced a lot of pressure, similar to that facing upcoming Star Wars movies. After the prequels were largely hated upon release, the movie faced expectations to recapture what fans loved about the original Star Wars trilogy.
Ironically, the prequels are now dubbed superior to the sequels due to the ever-present cinematic revisionism that will resurface with every new Star Wars release. Despite the pressure pinned on The Force Awakens from external audiences, the movie was also internally important to the very fabric of the Star Wars franchise. When watching the Star Wars movies in order this may not be overtly obvious, but The Force Awakens needed to succeed to usher in a new age of Star Wars. In doing so, and birthing the new generation of Star Wars under Disney, Star Wars: The Force Awakens radically changed the franchise in a number of ways.
10 The Force Awakens Introduced The Next Generation Of Star Wars Heroes
Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ cast will return in the next phase of Star Wars movies.
The biggest standout aspect of Episode VII which changed Star Wars forever was The Force Awakens‘ cast of characters. Through Rey, Poe Dameron, and Finn, The Force Awakens introduced the next generation of the franchise’s main heroes. Since 1977, Star Wars has often consisted of familiar characters. While the likes of Luke, Han, and Leia were not found in the prequels in major roles, pre-existing characters like Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Darth Vader were primary characters in Lucas’ second trilogy.
However, with Disney opting to take Star Wars into the future, Lucasfilm had the opportunity to include an entirely new batch of characters. These characters were integral to the following two sequels, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, proving how much of an impact Rey, Finn, and Poe had on the entire saga. Even furthering this impact, Rey Skywalker’s new Jedi Order movie will see Daisy Ridley return in the future, with the other original characters from the sequels also rumored to return.
9 Han Solo & Leia Organa’s Son Was The Sequels’ Main Villain
Kylo Ren drastically changed the dynamic of two iconic, original trilogy characters.
Undoubtedly one of the biggest twists of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the reveal that Kylo Ren was the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. The main way in which this changed Star Wars completely is by changing the dynamic of two of the original trilogy’s biggest characters. Many had hoped for a fan-service-filled, exciting reunion between the OT characters, yet the reveal that Ben Solo is Kylo Ren made Leia and Han’s meeting much more tragic. This impact on the franchise was felt throughout the entire trilogy, with Han’s death, subsequent reappearance as a Force vision in Episode IX, and Leia’s death being what redeemed Kylo Ren.
8 The Force Awakens Sets Up Luke Skywalker’s Exile
The Force Awakens began foreshadowing Luke Skywalker’s divisive sequel trilogy story.
The most interesting plot point of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was teased in the first words of the opening crawl: “Luke Skywalker has vanished.” This expertly foreshadowed Luke Skywalker’s self-imposed exile, a plot point that went on to change Star Wars forever. Luke’s exile was revealed as his own doing in Star Wars: The Last Jedi after he failed to spot the darkness in Ben Solo. Luke’s brief temptation to kill Ben and put an end to the darkness ahead caused the latter to turn on his Master, creating Kylo Ren and resulting in the deaths of most of Luke’s students.
This plot point became the single most controversial element in the entirety of the Star Wars franchise. Similarly, The Last Jedi is the most divisive entry in the Skywalker Saga and the film is still the subject of heated debate to this day. While many assume this was a plot point conceived for The Last Jedi, The Force Awakens foreshadowed Luke’s exile. Han explains to Rey in the first sequel film that an apprentice – Ben – turned against Luke who felt responsible, thus walking away from everything. This foreshadowing led to the construction of The Last Jedi‘s story, which has irreparably changed the franchise.
7 The First Order’s Rise Marked A Pivotal Point On The Star Wars Timeline
The First Order’s dominance is still impacting Star Wars projects eight years later.
Another element of Star Wars: The Force Awakens that altered the fabric of the franchise was the rise of the First Order. Not only did the Empire-like regime persist throughout the sequel trilogy as the main source of villainy in each story, but the First Order is still impacting Star Wars projects almost a decade after its debut. Disney+ projects like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka are foreshadowing the rise of the First Order, with the former including Brendol Hux, the father of Armitage Hux from the sequels.
Brendol is a founding member of the First Order, proving how The Force Awakens‘ inclusion of the organization is impacting stories set decades before it. Through Brendol and hints at Palpatine’s revival via Project Necromancer in The Mandalorian, the set-up of the First Order’s dominance is clear. With this promised continuation of the First Order’s rise that will be featured in upcoming New Republica-era projects, it is evident that The Force Awakens‘ invention of the authoritarian government changed the franchise for good.
6 The Force Awakens Proved What A Blend Of Practical Effects & CGI Could Achieve
Episode VII blends the practical effects of the original trilogy with the visual marvels of the prequels.
For the most part, the original Star Wars trilogy consisted of practical effects while the prequels used predominantly visual effects. The latter was somewhat criticized given that the standard of technology was not developed enough for Lucas to fully commit to his vision, with many hoping Star Wars would return to the more grounded look of the OT for the sequels. The Force Awakens then proved that the future of Star Wars looks best when combining both aspects. Since then, Star Wars has continued to push the boundaries of blending CGI with practical effects, proving to be another way Star Wars: The Force Awakens changed the franchise for the better.
5 Star Wars: The Force Awakens First Introduced The Concept Of A Force Dyad
The Rise of Skywalker’s vital Force Dyad began in The Force Awakens.
The most important plot point of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was the Force Dyad between Ben Solo and Rey Skywalker. The two were revealed to be connected via the Force, essentially being two parts of the same whole in the eyes of the mystical energy field. This changed the lore of the Force completely and was first teased in The Force Awakens. The scene in which Kylo and Rey’s minds connect with ease in The Force Awakens began to tease their future connection which altered the Star Wars fanbase’s perception of the Force entirely.
4 Palpatine’s Revival Was Hinted At In The Force Awakens (From A Certain Point Of View)
The mystery of Rey’s parents was first teased in The Force Awakens’ Force vision.
While Palpatine’s return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was not always the plan for the sequel trilogy, one could argue that The Force Awakens first hinted at this. Initially, the hints at Rey’s parents abandoning her during The Force Awakens‘ Force vision was set up for The Last Jedi‘s reveal that she belongs to no special bloodline. However, The Rise of Skywalker retconned this to link to Palpatine’s revival and also that Rey is the Emperor’s granddaughter. Both reveals massively altered all three Star Wars trilogies, meaning The Force Awakens‘ teases began hinting at how much the franchise was going to be altered in the near future.
3 The Force Awakens Began Foreshadowing The Next Generation Of Jedi
Rey’s emotional character set up a new, different generation of Jedi going forward.
As revealed at Star Wars Celebration 2023, Rey Skywalker will usher in the next generation of Jedi in her own solo film set 15 years after the sequel trilogy. This new Jedi Order is expected to learn from the dogmatic mistakes of the prequel trilogy’s organization, something that was first teased in The Force Awakens‘ upon Rey’s introduction. Since the first sequel film, Rey has been presented as a caring person with an overly emotional side, something vastly different from the Jedi of the past.
In establishing Rey as this kind of character who exhibits all human emotions both positive and negative, the Jedi Order of the future is being set up as a vastly different one to the Jedi that have been present between the days of the Old Republic and the prequels. This will mark a drastic change from the regular Star Wars status quo, a change that was first established in Rey’s introduction in The Force Awakens. Through that film portraying Rey as a different kind of Jedi, the Star Wars franchise will be vastly different from the days of the prequels by the time of Daisy Ridley’s new Star Wars film.
2 Star Wars’ New Republic Was Destroyed By Starkiller Base
Disney+’s exploration of the New Republic is drastically altered by The Force Awakens.
Aside from the teases of the First Order found in recent Disney+ content, Star Wars TV shows have also made a concerted effort to flesh out the New Republic formed between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. In the latter film, the integral foundation of the New Republic is obliterated by the First Order’s Starkiller Base. This means that, when retrospectively thinking of The Force Awakens in light of Disney+’s New Republic developments, the status of the galaxy was changed considerably by the First Order’s attack.
1 The Force Awakens Introduced Star Wars Characters Older Than Yoda
Older, more mysterious characters than Yoda were introduced in The Force Awakens.
Finally, the last way in which The Force Awakens changed the Star Wars franchise is by creating characters older than Yoda. Throughout the original and prequel trilogy, Yoda ranked as the oldest and therefore most mysterious character in the entire franchise. That said, The Force Awakens introduced Maz Kanata, a being almost 200 years older than Yoda. This set the precedent for other characters of longevity to be introduced or retconned, such as Oppo Rancisis and Yarael Poof who were present on the Jedi Council in the High Republic as well as during the prequels.
Other characters like the Bendu introduced in Star Wars Rebels followed in The Force Awakens’ footsteps. Not only did The Force Awakens introducing a character like Maz open up the franchise to ancient beings, but it also heralded the opportunity to explore ancient parts of the Star Wars timeline through these characters. As such, the Star Wars franchise was forever changed in this way – alongside many others – by the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015.
