On Friday the 28t November, we got our first glimpse of Star Wars Episode 7, and it doesn’t disappoint. Touching on just the right amount of nostalgia to make this film feel like it will deliver. With flashes of Tattooine, the Millennium Falcon and a new Sith it really does stir huge excitement for the film when it finally does arrive in 12 months.

Early thoughts: this looks like being the real deal, a return to the core values (practical effects! Practical droids!) and, more importantly, the feel of classic Star Wars.

It’s also more notable for what it doesn’t show as much as it shows. So, contrary to initial rumours, we don’t get a glimpse of the old stagers returning to the franchise. There’s no Mark Hamill as a bearded Luke Skywalker, no Harrison Ford as Han Solo, no Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, no Chewie, no Threepio, no Artoo.

What we do get is a glimpse at the new blood that will drive the film – John Boyega, the hero of the film, intriguingly wearing an Imperial Stormtrooper’s outfit. Some rumours had suggested that Boyega’s character would be a guy with a troubled past trying to find the right path. This definitely tallies with that.

Then we have Daisy Ridley as the film’s heroine (believed to be called Kira), Oscar Isaac as an X-Wing pilot lining up in formation with a squadron of fellow pilots, and… the new Sith threat. The dark voiceover that begins the trailer – “there has been an awakening. Have you felt it?” – not only tees up the title, but seems to come from a villain who’ll be making life difficult for our heroes.

That villain may well be the Sith Lord seen near the end of the teaser, sporting a souped-up red lightsaber that’s more ragged and, literally, laser sword-like than previous models. Speculation already suggests the voice could belong to Benedict Cumberbatch, but as his involvement in the film hasn’t been confirmed, we’d imagine it will come more from Adam Driver.

And then, in lieu of faces of old friends, we get an astonishing shot that heralds the return of the coolest spaceship in movie history – the Millennium Falcon, swooping and gliding and loop-the-looping across the sand dunes of Tattooine as it seeks to avoid any Imperial entanglements. With the one-two punch of that, followed quickly by John Williams’ Star Wars theme, the trailer ends on a triumphant note that had the entire Empire office bursting into applause. And we’re a jaded, cynical bunch.

If you haven’t already had a look, don’t waste anymore time. Check it out below;