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New 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Trailer Released, See It Here

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As tens of thousands of fans flocked to Anaheim, California for the Tenth annual Star Wars Celebration hosted by Disney, the world eagerly awaited the promised unveiling of the first full trailer for the upcoming long-awaited sequel Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and when it came it was everything we've all hoped for.

It's been 32 years since Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi graced screens, and we've not seen the original cast of characters since. Fans kept the faith for years, and then came the prequel trilogy that -- while receiving mixed reactions at times -- managed to satiate the desire for more Star Wars. But the desperate need to find out what came next after Return of the Jedi never went away, and after a while it seemed perhaps we'd never get the chance. When Disney bought Lucasfilm, it sparked a new hope (pun definitely intended), and that hope was soon rewarded with a formal announcement that a new series of films would come, starting with a direct sequel to Return of the Jedi.

Several weeks ago, we got our first teaser featuring glimpses of the newest film, and now today we've got the first full trailer. So, I won't tease you any longer -- let's take a look at the new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

Disney brought out director J.J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy for the official panel on Star Wars: The Force Awakens to premiere the trailer, and the crowd -- which lined up the night before to make sure they got in to the panel -- erupted in cheers of pure joy and applause. The panel discussion itself was great, with most of the main cast -- sans Harrison Ford -- coming out on stage to answer some questions and talk to the audience. It was an amazing moment, for sure.

When Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters in December, all expectations are that it will break opening weekend records. Its box office potential is beyond just about anything else in the coming years, with a fanbase unmatched by any other franchise. The Avengers: Age of Ultron will open this summer and without a doubt be the biggest summer film and one of the top two or three grossing films of 2015. But it's doubtful it could really manage to retain a top spot on the year's box office list once Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out.

The 32 year wait for a direct sequel, the millions of hardcore fans who've joined the ranks worldwide over those many decades, and the prime release scheduling (think Avatar and Titanic, folks) coupled with everything else jumping out of the way to give the film a pretty clear run, means it's just a question of whether Star Wars will be able to topple Avatar from the top spot on the all-time box office list.

At $2.7 billion, Avatar has a big lead, for sure. But that was from a time with less theaters worldwide, far less IMAX and 3D screens, and lower ticket prices. So to all of Star Wars' brand advantages and anticipation, add those significant factors, and it seems inevitable that this movie will eventually supplant Avatar at the top of the mountain.

What do you think of the new trailer, dear readers? Sound off in the comments below!

All box office figures and tallies based on data via Box Office Mojo and TheNumbers.

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