Further Reading The force has awoken: what we know about Star Wars Episode VII

Is anyone else getting excited about the new Star Wars film as its release date draws ever-closer? Here at Ars we certainly are.

The series holds a central place in geek canon, and on Monday we got a better look at what's changed in that far, far away galaxy in the 30 or so years that have passed since Return of the Jedi. We get our first look at the film's poster Sunday, and the full trailer will release happened during last night's Monday Night Football game. What's more, cinemas around the country have started offering tickets to the film, which releases December 17.

New Star Wars trailers have always been a source of excitement even when the actual films fell short. We remember abusing hefty academic Internet connections back in the late 1990s to download a first look at The Phantom Menace, and many who lacked such bandwidth instead bought tickets to movies they had no intention of seeing simply because the trailer was being screened.

Among the information (for which no Bothan spies had to die) was news that many cinemas across the United States will also hold marathon screenings of the entire series on December 17, beginning at 4am (local time) with The Phantom Menace and concluding with a 7pm showing of The Force Awakens. Speaking of The Phantom Menace, we also just learned that film could have been worse: there were originally plans to give Jar-Jar Binks his own "loveable" companion, a sort of space dog called a blarth.

Update, 10/19: Annnnnnd the trailer awakens! We watched it on ESPN tonight, and about eight seconds later, it appeared on YouTube. Watch a lot more footage from the film, including the first footage of Leia and of the apparent main bad guy, below. It'll give you something to do while waiting for ticket sales sites such as Fandango and MovieTickets.com to recover from the onslaught of desperate buyers.