More excited about Star Wars than Xmas...

I seem to be slipping evermore behind in terms of keeping up with this place and making sure that I have a presence online, but this past month I have had the excuse of being very much floored by a case of acute sinusitis and actually thinking at the worst point that I was going to expire. But one of the benefits of being down for the count is that once you recover, you're reminded of all of the things that you were looking forward before succumbing to the illness.

I reckon that there are now only seventeen days until the theatrical release of Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens, and I have now boiled my assumptions down to Rey and Kylo Ren being the twin children of Han and Leia, both taking different paths as far as the force is concerned, favouring Snook being Plageous and Luke not having been claimed by the dark side but living as a recluse on account of his force powers becoming too potent to be controlled.

One character that I am surprised not to have heard more speculation about, I have to say, is that of Captain Phasma. It seems to me that a role filled with a named actress such as Gwendoline Christie and featured so prominently in the trailers and TV spots has to be something more than simply a higher-ranking First Order officer. The original trilogy never featured Imperial officers who were anything more than either messenger-boys or punching bags for Darth Vader, and to have a distinctive set of armour and equipment makes me think that she must have a more complicated back-story yet to be told.

My own theory is based on the fact that she has brushed metal armour, a shoulder-cape and a blaster with a stock that she holds in almost the exact same manner as Boba Fett. I'm not suggesting anything daft like her being his daughter, more like she's simply a Mandalorian or even the child of a surviving clone trooper that's discovered the legacy of Jango Fett and embraced Mandalorian culture and ideals as a result. You may recall that Mandalorian armour was made of Beskar, a metal able to deflect glancing blows from a lightsabre, which would be useful if Kylo Ren is indeed trying to complete Darth Vader's quest to exterminate the Jedi.

What theories and thoughts do you have on this and other subjects relating to the new Star Wars movies?