The wait is over. Empire’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens edition lands on newsstands this week with galactic exclusives aplenty. Everyone from John Boyega and Daisy Ridley to Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford share their thoughts on J.J. Abrams’ colossally-anticipated sci-fi within its pages. There are maps to the stars (look out for an entire cartographical representation of Episodes IV-VI), lightsaber galleries, a toy-collector’s compendium of Hasbro’s Star Wars figures down the years and the recollections of Star Wars fanatic and now franchise cast member Simon Pegg, among many, many other gems.
Acting as connective tissue between Jakku and another troubled world – Westeros – is Gwendoline Christie, AKA Brienne of Tarth in Game Of Thrones, another rising star profiled in the issue. Outranking her Star Wars villain Captain Phasma is Samuel L. Jackson’s Major Marquis Warren, one of the key figures in Empire’s exclusive coverage of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight.
Outranking both of them by dint of being Burt Reynolds is Burt Reynolds. He's opened the doors of his Florida mansion, and his memory banks, to us in a fascinating look back over nearly half a century of movie stardom. Don’t miss that, or Empire’s all-singing, all-dancing, occasionally high-fiving look back at the year in movies – 2015’s review of the year – and a seasonal gift guide that will ensure the foot of your Christmas tree is stocked more full of loot than a Viking's piggybank.
For some alternative stocking filler ideas, this month's Re-View section features the big DVD, Blu-ray and literary releases of the moment, including Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Ant-Man, Inside Out and, fittingly, The Gift. Merry Christmas, one and all.
For all this and a whole lot more, download the new issue of Empire from a newsstand near you on Thursday, November 26.