The Force Awakens: Three Things I Need, And One Thing I Don’t

Look, I’m going to cut right to the chase on this. I’m so excited for the new Star Wars movie to drop I can’t even get excited about the X-Men: Age of Apocolypse trailer (in which very little happens), the Independence Day: Resurgence trailer (which doesn’t have Will Smith in it and therefore didn’t happen) or the Star Trek: Beyond trailer (which makes no sense at all AND has the Beastie Boys as the soundtrack so I wish it hadn’t happened). I mean, I’m on a full media diet of rumors and leaks. I’ve read the Star Wars comic books, re-watched all the previous movies (I-VI), and purged any unauthorized characters from my canon. I AM READY. But I also recognize that I have to set reasonable expectations for myself. Hype sells merch — believe me, I own 3 lightsabers — but it also sets me up for disappointment. And it is Christmahanukwanzakah, so I’m not having disappointment. In an attempt to bring my expectations down to a manageable level, I’ve set a few simple guidelines for what I need — and don’t need — from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If J. J. Abrams and the crew can hit these notes and avoid the failures of previous Star Wars movies, I’ll be happy. Note, the plot making sense isn’t even on my wish list. That’d be great, don’t get me wrong. But really, what I need is much more basic… 1. I need Finn to be a badass of his own.

We’re on the come-up now, Black people. We’ve got a Black male lead set to take on an iconic science fiction role: A Force User, perhaps dar…