Star Wars trailer inspires crazy speculation from crazy fans

Jedi Master Yoda once said: "Always in motion, is the future."

And that's true; but speculation about the future of the Star Wars franchise has gotten hotter than the twin suns of Tatooine since the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released on Monday.

On The Coast host Stephen Quinn did some speculating himself when he convened a panel of Star Wars superfans to dissect the trailer and see what it's fleeting images might mean.

• New Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer airs during ESPN's Monday Night Football
• Star Wars R2-D2 Jet touches down in Vancouver
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens sets Dec. 14 for world premiere

He was joined by writer and comedian Kathleen De Vere, Univeristy of British Columbia professor of astronomy and astrophysics Jaymie Matthews and commander of the 501st Legion's Outer Rim Garrison Terry Chui.

Here are their takes on three key questions raised by the trailer, and the film. Many Bothans died to bring you this article.

What will Luke Skywalker's role be in this film?

De Vere: The hot money in my group of friends is betting whether Luke Skywalker is in one of three situations: dead, dark side, or on Dagobah, the swampy planet where Yoda's from. I'm on the Dagobah team, I think he's there, but somehow I know, he's gone dark side, and Kylo Ren's his protege. It's all crazy at this point.

Chui: I'd like to think Dagobah. That's the holistic thing to do, right? I honestly don't know. I'm going to be just as surprised as everybody else.

Matthews: Well, the Skywalker family has a pretty bad track record of staying on the good side of the Force. The bantha doodoo doesn't fall that far from the bantha. So who knows? I think it would be a lot to ask of the audience and the Star Wars faithful if we find out Luke had gone over to the dark side right away. I think there'll be questions posed in the first film, but we won't know where Luke is standing.

Han and Leia embrace in the trailer, and Leia looks really worried. What's that about?

De Vere: There's the whole Kylo Ren thing, maybe he's their kid. But there's a shot of Daisy Ridley later in the trailer, all sad and crying over something, and some people on the Internet have said, "That looks suspiciously like fur. Oh no! Does Chewbacca bite it in the first movie?!"

Quinn: How old is Chewbacca? He doesn't have a grey hair on his body.

Matthews: 800 years. I remember seeing one of the very first promotional images for Star Wars and it referred to an 800-year-old Wookie. And I just rolled my eyes!

Are we worried about Disney taking over the franchise?

Chui: I don't think that's the case. I think they've made a lot of the right moves in terms of picking the right writers and directors and producers to capture the imaginations of fans both old and new. J.J. Abrams' name really rose to the top, and he's really the poster boy of the Spielberg-Lucas era. So if anyone's going to capture the spirit of E.T. or Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars, it's going to be him.

This interview has been edited and condensed to be shorter than an ewok. To hear the full interview, click on the audio labelled: Stephen Quinn and fellow Star Wars superfans speculate on new film