The Force is with the new 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' trailer

In this image released by Disney, a scene is shown from the film, 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens.' (LucasFilm / Disney)

The long-awaited teaser trailer for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ hit theatres and the Internet on Friday, offering a tantalizing glimpse of new heroes, new villains and the familiar Millennium Falcon from the original trilogy.

It also appears to have sparked new hope among the sci-fi franchise’s ardent fans, who were largely supportive of the trailer’s original-trilogy aesthetic on social media.

The 88-second teaser posted on YouTube showcases the three actors expected to become the main figures in the ‘Star Wars’ plans going forward: British actor John Boyega, Guatemalan-born actor Oscar Isaac and British film newcomer Daisy Ridley.

The trailer opens on the familiar sand dunes of Tatooine, Luke Skywalker’s home planet from the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy. “There has been an awakening,” says a deep, growly voiceover. “Have you felt it?”

Boyega’s character then pops up into the frame. He’s wearing what appears to be an updated version of the white stormtrooper armour worn by footsoldiers of the evil Empire in the original trilogy. His helmet is off, and he’s looking sweaty and very stressed.

The next shot shows a strange robot rolling across the sand in front of a wrecked spaceship and what appears to be an old podracer engine from the first prequel movie, ‘Episode I: The Phantom Menace.’ The robot looks like a cross between R2-D2 and a Dyson vacuum cleaner, with a half-globe head and a body reminiscent of a soccer ball.

The trailer then shows a squadron of stormtroopers preparing to deploy out of a dropship.

Next it offers a glimpse of the film’s female lead, Daisy Ridley, wearing desert garb and looking pretty worried. She rides a clunky-looking hoverbike toward a settlement in the distance, again on the sand planet of Tatooine.

Then the footage shows Oscar Isaac’s character sitting in the pilot’s seat of an X-wing, the same fighter-style spaceship Luke used in the original trilogy. The teaser then cuts to a trio of X-wings streaking across a mountain lake in one of the more spectacular visual shots of the trailer.

The menacing voiceover returns with the next shot. “The Dark Side,” the voice says, as the camera shows a dark-robed figure marching away from the camera in a snowy forest at night. The figure whips out a lightsaber from behind his back. A single red blade shoots out, followed by two smaller red blades down by the handle, forming a sort of laser handguard.

The villains in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise have traditionally used red lightsabers. Darth Vader’s was a plain, single-bladed weapon, but the acrobatic Darth Maul had a red blade on each end of his weapon in ‘Episode I: The Phantom Menace.’ This new bad guy appears to be going for his own exotic look.

The trailer saves its most triumphant sequence for last. “And the Light,” the voiceover says, and the screen goes from black to a shot of the iconic Millennium Falcon ship soaring through the sky over Tatooine, with John Williams’ familiar ‘Star Wars’ theme blaring triumphantly. The Millennium Falcon soars, dives, and blasts past a pair of TIE fighters.

The TIE fighters, the Millennium Falcon and the X-wings were all prominent spaceships in the original trilogy. Notably, the trailer included almost no references to the divisive ‘Star Wars’ prequel trilogy that came out between 1999 and 2005.

Original trilogy cast members Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) were not shown in the trailer. However, all three have roles in the movie.

‘The Force Awakens’ will be the seventh installment in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise, and the first ‘Star Wars’ film produced under Disney’s ownership. Disney purchased Lucasfilm from ‘Star Wars’ creator George Lucas in 2012, and acquired the rights to the ‘Star Wars’ movie franchise in the process.

Director J.J. Abrams has repeatedly said he wants ‘The Force Awakens’ to look and feel like the original trilogy, which began with 1977’s ‘Star Wars’ (later renamed ‘Episode IV: A New Hope) and continued in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980) and ‘Return of the Jedi’ (1983).

That original trilogy launched a massively successful sci-fi franchise, but George Lucas failed to recapture his early success with a second, prequel trilogy of movies focused on the young life of Darth Vader. The prequel trilogy’s heavy use of special effects and introduction of characters like Jar Jar Binks was met with tepid response from fans.

Abrams has said ‘The Force Awakens’ will return to the practical effects and gritty visual approach of the original trilogy.

Based on Twitter response, most people are guardedly optimistic that the Force may be with this new movie.

The trailer debuted on Friday, but the film is still a long, long time away. It won’t hit theatres until Dec. 18, 2015.

‘Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens’ will feature a large ensemble cast, with franchise newcomers like John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac joining Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. Actor Peter Mayhew will reprise his role as Chewbacca, while Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker will be back as the droid duo of C-3PO and R2-D2, respectively.

The film will also feature Academy Award-winner Lupita Nyong’o (‘Twelve Years a Slave’), ‘Game of Thrones’ actress Gwendoline Christie and Adam Driver from the television series ‘Girls.’