This winter break, for the first time in nearly 10 years, we get to bear witness to a very exciting event: the premiere of a brand new Star Wars movie. Over the past four decades, six movies have been released in the franchise, each met with more fervor from fans than the last. It could be argued that no movie series has more “fan-boys” than this: people who will camp out, hours in advance, in front of the movie theater, decked out in more Chewbacca and Darth Vader costumes than necessary. And rightfully so! Every time a movie has been released in the series, it was a huge event, and there is little to show that this one will be any different. Here is what you need to know to be excited for Episode VII: The Force Awakens, the newest release in one of the most iconic film series of all time.

George Lucas is no Longer at the Helm

A long time ago, in 1973, George Lucas started his vision for a series of movies that would end up becoming “Star Wars”. After directing and writing the first film in 1977, he relegated most of the directorial duties for the following two movies to people more experienced with directing and controlling the flow of a big movie set. But when it came time for the production and release of the Prequel Trilogy in 1999, Lucas decided that this time around, he was best suited for the job of director. If you were to ask fans of the franchise, however, most would tend to disagree. With the release of The Phantom Menace in 1999, Lucas presented a movie that most fans felt didn’t hold up to the standards of the Original Trilogy. There were several areas that left moviegoers with a sour taste in their mouth leaving the theater: poor dialogue, shoddy CGI work, and… interesting character choices, to say the least. Anyone who saw the film in theaters remembers the now almost infamous character of Jar-Jar Binks, one that Lucas added to appeal to the children in the audience. Unfortunately, this decision largely backfired, and Jar-Jar Binks has grown to become one of the most hated characters in the Star Wars universe. While no one can deny that George Lucas conceived an incredible idea with the creation of Star Wars, many fans, critics, and casual watchers have made it clear that, if left up to Lucas, the actual execution and delivery of these ideas can sometimes be lackluster.

Thankfully, fans shouldn’t have anything to worry about with Episode VII, as both the screenwriting and directing roles are being filled by relative outsiders to the Star Wars franchise. J.J. Abrams, who some may recognize as the director of the fantastic Mission Impossible III, has been chosen as director and co-writer of the first film in this new trilogy.

Abrams also has experience directing another space-themed epic in 2009’s Star Trek reboot. Hopefully, bringing some new life into the director’s chair will be enough to give fans a little peace-of-mind prior to release.

Episode VII Continues the Story of the First Six Movies

The rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker. The creation of one of movies' greatest villians, Darth Vader. Han Solo and Chewy. “Luke, I am your father”. The first six entries in the Star Wars films contain some of the most well-known and iconic storylines in recent memory. It should come as no surprise, then, that the new trilogy will serve as a continuance of many of the stories told in the first films. Episode VII is set about 40 years after the end of “Return of the Jedi”. We don’t know much about plotlines quite yet, but it’s safe to say we will see the return of all (or most) of our favorite characters. Come December, you can fully expect to see Princess Leia, Han Solo, C-3PO, Luke Skywalker, and a whole slew of other classic characters.

Don’t expect a tired rehash of old storylines and personalities, though. With The Force Awakens, Abrams and Co. have come up with several new exciting characters, like Kylo Ren. Ren is slated as the new “bad guy” of the movie, and details gleamed from press releases and trailer screengrabs apparently show him as following in Vader’s footsteps. Fans across the world have been eating up every morsel of information released so far, but the people in charge have commendably played their cards close to the chest, because we really don’t know anything important about the plot of the film quite yet. That all changes December 17th at midnight when the first fans step into midnight premieres of the film.

The World Is Getting a New Star Wars

The final reason to be excited for Episode VII is also the simplest: we’re getting a new Star Wars. Those words are enough to send any self-respecting nerd into a fit. Simply put, these movies hold a pretty high spot on the list of “Important Stuff” for us, culturally. Lightsabers, Jedi… I mean, what boy growing up didn’t wish he could use the Force? The release of this movie is an exciting time; an opportunity for fans of the originals to go on a nostalgia trip, and potentially an opportunity to introduce their kids to a big, exciting world. A chance for people to work on their Yoda impressions, probably for a couple weeks after it’s worn out its welcome. Star Wars is a big deal – one impressive testament to that is the fact that every IMAX Theater across the country is booked out to play nothing but The Force Awakens for a solid month. So get ready, because just like in 1999, we’re all going to get reminded how much we all love us some Star Wars.