'Star Wars: The Force Awakens': 12 exclusive EW looks at the new galaxy

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Daisy Ridley's Rey and John Boyega's runaway stormtrooper Finn flee from The First Order on the desert world Jakku in this new shot from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, out Dec. 18.

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Our cover model, Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver) strikes a pose with his homemade lightsaber. It turns out, his true identity has been masked from us in more ways than one …

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After a violent escape, John Boyega's Finn runs from the wreckage of a TIE fighter, afraid, desperate, but lucky to be alive.

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Rey (Daisy Ridley) meets up with BB-8 while cutting him free from a fellow scavenger’s net. But what is that large creature — and who is riding atop it? (More on that later.)

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Old friends, but in a new time and place. R2-D2 seems to have hardly changed, but C-3PO (played by Anthony Daniels) now sports an unexplained red arm.

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Squad goals. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and a team of merciless First Order stormtroopers lay waste to a peaceful Jakku village.

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Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, a cruel leader of The First Order who craves to show the galaxy his might. (This image was briefly shown at Comic-Con but never released in detail until now.)

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Inside this shimmering armor is a warrior for The First Order, Captain Phasma (played by Gwendoline Christie of Game of Thrones). Her character's name has an unexpected origin...

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Director J.J. Abrams relaxes on the set of The First Order's Starkiller Base with his co-writer Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back). Note the dark red script pages in Kasdan's hand, a security measure to prevent copying.

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There's a reason the X-Wing fighter is black, but J.J. Abrams wants to keep that a mystery for now. Stealth tech? This is another previously seen shot from the Star Wars Celebration fan event in April.

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Director J.J. Abrams and actress Daisy Ridley in a previously released behind-the-scenes shot. Abrams was recruited to join the film when Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy asked him a question about another young Star Wars desert-dweller...

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"Chewie, we're home." Entertainment Weekly's Star Wars: The Force Awakens report will include the story of Harrison Ford's emotional first day on set.