That Star Wars trailer: *this* is how you break the internet…

So, the new Star Wars trailer came out this week. I’m not going to pretend this is hot off the press: if you haven’t seen it yet, click below, and catch up with the 18m views it’s already had on Youtube (at time of writing).

The plan was to launch into this blog using Star Wars as a slightly click-baity intro to making a sardonic point about marketing or teaser trailers in the age of the internet, but I’ve given up.

I really can’t think of anything clever or funny to say about it. It was just too good, and when the camera panned onto a fallen Super Star Destroyer, I felt a little bit emotional. By the time the trailer finished rolling, I’d just about lost the capacity for speech altogether. I’m 36, just for the record.

Luckily, I wasn’t alone in my enthusiasm. In a rare show of unity, the internet – generally speaking, a hive of scum and villainy that makes Mos Eisley look like a Sandals holiday resort – was virtually unanimous in its praise.

The ships look dirty. The Falcon is back. Han is back. The stormtroopers look like stormtroopers again. The music is as epic as ever. The humorous touches look dry and delicate, instead of the garish, obvious slapstick of Episodes 1-3. Did I mention that Han is back?

The trailer was so good, Disney’s value was boosted to the tune of $2bn, which makes the $4bn it paid for the Star Wars franchise look like something of a bargain.

Long story short: it reassured me that everything’s going to be ok, and I’m not sure I’m just talking about Star Wars there.

That’s how you create a viral buzz: Christmas can’t some soon enough.