Ordinarily I'd discount the flashback idea as a rumor, but wasn't there a set photo showing that Abrams and company have actually recreated the burning Lars homestead from ANH?
We might actually be in for multiple flashbacks here. Which is kind of weird, because it's so unlike Lucas's signature cinema verité style. It puts me more in mind of the Leigh Brackett draft of ESB, which uses stuff like text captions introducing new planets, and trippy Force-visions when Luke and Vader duel.