­­­If I said 'Captain Jean-Luc Picard' to the average person on the street, they would probably think I was talking about a famous French general. If I said 'Darth Vader,' however, 99.9 per cent of people would probably start having (apparent) breathing difficulties and telling me or Luke that they were my father. Star Wars is universal. It is riven into modern culture as much as Coca Cola and James Bond. And this evening a trailer for the latest iteration, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, arrived. It blew me, and apparently most of Twitter, back to a galaxy far, far away.

Terrible puns aside, there is every reason to get very excited for this new movie. It stands as Episode VII in the Star Wars series, and a continuation of the original trilogy of films. So surely this can only be a good thing? No more Jar Jar Binks. No more angsty scenes of Anakin leering after Padmé. Instead we have Harrison Ford, the magnificent silver fox, returning as Han Solo – Han f*cking Solo.

The trailer itself is a work of art. It opens with the words of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill) reminding everyone (as if we forgot?!) about how strong the Force is with him (geez, way to show off). His words are juxtaposed against scenes which will get every Star Wars fan – and sane human being – excited. Darth Vader’s mangled head. R2-D2. A WHOLE F*CKING STAR DESTROYER CRASHED INTO THE DESERT. And – it gets better – in a glorious minute of footage we are even given tantalising shots of dogfights in ruined spaceships, chaotic stormtroopers shooting their blaster rifles, a mysterious cloaked stormtrooper, and, then, finally, the old Silver Fox himself with his trusty companion Chewbacca – who, unlike Han, doesn’t seem to have aged a day (apparently the secret to immortality is becoming a Wookie: who’d have thought?).

But, of course, the question on the tip of everyone’s tongue is: will the film live up to all this hype?

There is every reason to hope so. The film is directed by JJ Abrams, the man who brought Star Trek into the 21st century by blending incredible cinematography with compelling action to win over cool new fans as well as the old die-hard Patrick Stewart nerds alike. It has a diverse cast. Gone are the days of the dominance of white men: Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, and Oscar Isaac are some of the great talent added to the Star Wars universe. Equally, Abrams has not relied on established names, with John Boyega and Daisy Ridley landing roles of a lifetime in joining the film.

Ultimately, all we can do is sit here and wait. George Lucas is a distant memory, so maybe, just maybe, we will finally get the Star Wars film we deserve. In the meantime, Christmas and Star Wars seem a long way away…