

Thirty years after defeating the Galactic Empire, Han Solo and his allies face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren and his army of Stormtroopers.
Practical Effects
Real droids, puppets, and locations over pure CGI.
Direction
Abrams' kinetic camera work makes space feel alive.
Acting
Driver's simmering rage as Kylo Ren steals scenes.

Director
J.J. Abrams
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The ball droid BB-8 was a practical effect for most scenes, controlled by puppeteers. The operating nickname was 'Ball-Bot 8'.
This film's record-breaking opening ($247M domestic) proved franchise revival could work, directly influencing every subsequent nostalgia-driven reboot strategy.