Anchorhead said:

Excellent points, many of which occasionally get lost in the noise this franchise has become. Along with a myriad of other inabilities and demons Lucas was tangling with, he never understood what made Star Wars77 connect with the audience. Like you pointed out, it was the simplicity. It was fun. It was an escape. It wasn't a government\economics course.

I too trust Abrams to understand what made 1977 work. If we've seen anything so far, it's that he's a fan of the 1977 universe.

I think the inclusion of Harrison Ford in Episode 7 is a HUGE deal to getting SW back to the movies that were fun to watch.

SW at heart is a simple story, yet there is alot going in the movie. There is drama, there is comedy, there is mythology, there is action, and it all equals a fun ride if you balance those elements. SW doesn't work when it tries to be TOO serious, TOO comedic, or TOO much action.

If you watch SW & Empire, Han & Luke pretty much have equal screentime, and those characters give it the right balance. Han gives the movie good comedic moments (That the average person can relate to), while Luke give the movie its dramatic moments (Where we aspire to be a pilot, jedi, etc in a galaxy far far away). ROTJ started that trend where the movies tried to be too dramatic, as Luke got much more screentime then Han. The Prequels were lacking that Han Solo character altogether, and the whole trilogy just lacked any sense of good comedic relief or fun in that respect.

With JJ supposedly giving Han a 'huge' role in Episode 7 (barring the injury), he is essentially saying that the new SW movies need more of those light (every guy) moments to equal out the darker (Jedi) moments.