I'm not writing off this film. But I just don't get where the hype is coming from.
I think it's a lot of things.
Firstly no Lucas is essential. He's technically still kind of attached, but not really. I think he's being paid to smile and wave at the premier more than anything.
The choice of Abrams was genius. There's literally no other director better suited for this project. Every move he's made just screams that he knows what people care about.
The teaser is fucking hawt.
I like the original trilogy. I don't think they're great films or anything, but they're very entertaining, the second half of Jedi is a little rough, but for the most part, they're enjoyable. But even coming from that perspective, just seeing new, beautiful glimpses of Stormtroopers sends such a pronounced shiver down my spine. All this stuff is so embedded in popular culture that you don't even have to be a fan to have this trailer fire you up.
The franchise has produced decent stuff since Empire, but nothing worthy of those first two films. It's never been given the reverence it's earned, and just seeing the production of this teaser feels like that's over. Like Disney is dedicated to righting a thirty five year long wrong.
I'm sure they'll fuck it up, six films in six years is awful, and Abrams handing it off after one is a strange choice. Even though I love Brick, Johnson is a bizarre choice for 8/9. I don't have much faith Disney aren't going to fuck this up completely, but I do have faith that at least this one film is going to be the quality anything labeled Star Wars deserves given its cultural importance.