Fans applauded the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" marketing team for avoiding a lot of spoilers in its many teasers and trailers. Most of the footage was taken from the first third of the film so fans could go in and still be surprised. 

However, if you watched enough of the trailers, TV spots, and read enough items about the movie, you probably could put together some basic ideas of the seventh installment. But could you guess the entire film's basic plot?

That's exactly what one Redditor did.

User 23423423423451 was able to outline the basic plot of "The Force Awakens" primarily using released footage from trailers and interviews 18 days ago after a dare on the social media platform.

Take a look at the prediction below. Warning: There are huge spoilers if you haven't seen the film.

Pretty impressive, right?

Obviously, some of those things didn't happen, but the main structure is correct.

Poe lands on the desert planet of Jakku and stows something in BB-8, but it's not Anakin and Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, it's a portion of a map to Luke's whereabouts.  

The Reddit user is also off about when and how Han Solo and Chewbacca meet up with Rey and Finn, but they nail the two really big spoilers: that Kylo Ren is the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo and that Kylo ends up killing Han.

While the latter would have been pretty hard to guess, many fans already had their suspicions Kylo was Leia and Han's son.

After initially being downvoted on Reddit, the plot synopsis is finally receiving a lot of love. Others are suspicious about how correct the prediction turned out.

The Reddit user claims he had no access to storyboards of the film. They claim they only looked at the footage released, interviews, a new map of the "Star Wars" universe, and the soundtrack list. The idea about the lightsaber being hidden in BB-8 was from someone else. 

The best part of this may be that the user has no idea, yet, their guess was so spot on.

They still have a few hours left before seeing the movie.  

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NOW WATCH: A 'Star Wars' star snuck into showings of 'The Force Awakens,' and fans flipped out

While the "Star Wars" movies take place in a galaxy far, far away, they use real locations on earth to fill in for other planets. 

One of the most otherworldly scenes in "The Force Awakens" was filmed on Skellig Michael, an island located six miles off the coast of Ireland.

The shoot there was shrouded in secrecy, and locals were told that the crew was filming a documentary. They were shocked to find that the new "Star Wars" movie was being filmed in their backyard.

The island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was a special place long before J.J. Abrams and the cast of "The Force Awakens" came along. It even hosts the ruins of an ancient monastery built sometime between the 6th and 8th centuries.

The views that the island offers are stunning — being there might just make you feel like a Jedi.

Story by Ian Phillips and editing by Ben Nigh

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SEE ALSO: A church took the 'Star Wars' frenzy as an opportunity to teach a biblical lesson

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The original "Star Wars" movies are one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises of our time. But one thing they are not known for is their scientific accuracy. However, Neil deGrasse Tyson found one thing from the movies get right, even if only by accident.

Produced by Darren Weaver and Kamelia Angelova. Additional production by Kevin Reilly.

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StarTalk Radio is a podcast and radio program hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, where comic co-hosts, guest celebrities, and scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Follow StarTalk Radio on Twitter, and watch StarTalk Radio "Behind the Scenes" on YouTube.

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"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" opened December 18 and has been breaking box-office records worldwide. But recently people have been buzzing less about the ticket sale numbers, and more about the the zeros in the actors' paychecks.

The Daily Mail reported Saturday that Ford will earn a whopping $34 million for reprising his role as Han Solo in "The Force Awakens." However, Variety reporter Justin Kroll corrected this number on Monday evening. "A Disney insider tells Variety the story is completely false and way too high,"Kroll writes. "But other sources did confirm that the 73-year-old actor earned a substantially larger cut than his co-stars."

The real figure, as per Variety's sources, was somewhere between $10 to 20 million — still a significant sum.

Ford's costars Daisy Ridley and John Boyega were both paid in the "low-six-figure range ($100-300k)"according to Variety. Though the Daily Mail report was extreme, the Variety report still puts Ford at potentially earning 50 times more than Ridley and Boyega.

The pay gap could be explained by both Ridley and Boyega's lack of previous roles in huge blockbuster movies. Ford, along with the original cast members Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher were all given salaries in the seven-figure range due to their longer careers, especially within the "Star Wars" franchise. 

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NOW WATCH: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler just made a hilarious behind-the-scenes 'Star Wars' parody

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" continued its history-setting ride at the Monday box office, grossing $40.1 million from 4,134 theaters in North America to crush the previous daily record set by "Spider-Man 2" in summer 2004 with $27.7 million.

Buoyed by many kids and college students being out of school, J.J. Abrams' tentpole finished the day with $288.1 million in domestic ticket sales and $610.8 million worldwide. It will race past the $300 million mark in North America sometime on Tuesday.

"Spider-Man 2" took in $27.7 million on the Monday following July 4th, when many people were on holiday. The biggest non-holiday Monday belongs to this summer's "Jurassic World" with $25.3 million. As a way of comparison, Force Awakens came in nearly 40 percent of "Spider-Man 2" and more than 25 percent ahead of "Jurassic World."

Over the weekend, "Force Awakens" launched to a stunning $248 million domestically and $529 globally, wresting the crown from "Jurassic World," which opened to $208.8 million domestically and $524 million globally.

Its performance so far is a major victory for Iger and Disney's film studio. “Our sole focus has been creating a film that delivers that one-of-a-kind "Star Wars" experience, and director J.J. Abrams, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and the Lucasfilm team have outdone themselves,” Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said in a statement.

Abrams' sequel, set 30 years after the events of "Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi," features a strong female heroine in Rey, a young scavenger played by newcomer Daisy Ridley. Rey and a renegade stormtrooper (John Boyega) band together to challenge a rising evil that includes a new planet-killing laser cannon.

The film also stars Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong'o and Domhnall Gleeson, along with original trilogy stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.

At this rate, there's no telling how high "Force Awakens" will ultimately fly in terms of box-office revenue, since films over the year-end holidays can see huge multiples. James Cameron's "Avatar" opened to $77 million on the same weekend in 2009 on its way to becoming the top-grossing film of all time with $2.79 billion in global ticket sales, including $760.5 million domestically. And on the weekend before Christmas in 1996, Cameron's "Titanic" took in a mere $28.6 million on its way to grossing $2.19 billion worldwide.

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip" came in No. 2 with $2.9 million from 3,653 theaters for a four-day domestic total of $17.2 million for 20th Century Fox. Universal's raunchy, R-rated comedy "Sisters," starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, followed with an estimated $2.5 million from 2,961 locations for a four-day domestic total of $16.5 million.

SEE ALSO: Universal sent "Star Wars" and awesome congratulations for beating the "Jurassic World" box-office record

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NOW WATCH: Here's Elon Musk back in 2011, explaining how ridiculously hard it would be for SpaceX to land its first reusable rocket

With "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"shattering box-office records over the weekend, the inevitable question now is how much did everyone in the movie get paid?

Variety looked into the question, and what it found is that seniority in a galaxy far, far away certainly helped at the negotiating table — especially for Harrison Ford.

We broke down the reported figures for all the main actors here:

SEE ALSO: The new 'Star Wars' movie took a big piece of inspiration from the expanded universe

Harrison Ford: $10 million to $20 million

There's a report by the Daily Mail that Ford had a $25 million payday to return as Han Solo, but according to the studio insiders Variety spoke to, that's untrue. But there's no disputing that Ford walked away with the biggest check of the actors. A big reason for that is [SPOILER ALERT] this is ol' Han's final appearance in the "Star Wars" saga. But it also clearly has something to do with Ford's stardom and experience relative to his costars.

Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher: Low seven-figures

Though neither had a lot of screen time in "The Force Awakens," both had salaries in the millions for the movie, and those will rise as their involvement in the upcoming films grows. According to Variety, Disney instituted a "legacy pay scale" in 2014 before casting the new roles so talent from the original trilogy would have a bump compared to the new actors.

Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac: Mid-to-high six-figures

From the new cast, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac reportedly landed on the high side for salaries. This is because of their previous TV and movie work, which gives them fixed rates. Isaac has been in "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "Ex Machina," among others. Driver has worked on "Lincoln," HBO's "Girls," and more.

The first movie installment of "Star Wars" premiered in 1977, and anticipation for each new sequel and prequel has snowballed ever since.

With "The Force Awakens" being released, many of the films' beloved original actors — including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher — are reprising their roles. But others won't be around for Episode VII.

So what's everybody from the original three "Star Wars" movies been up to in the past 38 years? Scroll through to find out.

THEN: Harrison Ford was working as a carpenter to supplement his flailing acting career. But after "Star Wars: A New Hope" came out, he rocketed to stardom.

He knew director George Lucas because they worked together on "American Graffiti." Ford was helping stand in for screen tests while other actors auditioned. To his surprise, Lucas offered him the part without even telling him he was up for it.

Source: Business Insider

NOW: Ford is a bona-fide A-list movie star and playing Han Solo again.

The first three "Star Wars" films put Ford on the map. Since then, he starred in the "Indiana Jones" movie franchise and plenty of other films from the 1980s until today. He recently returned to the action genre in "The Expendables" and its sequel.

Most importantly, though, he's reprising his role as Han Solo in "The Force Awakens." Fans around the world lost it when he appeared at the end of an early teaser to say to his Wookiee sidekick, "Chewie, we're home."

THEN: Carrie Fisher had had some small roles, but was predominantly known as the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds until being cast in "Star Wars: A New Hope."

In her feature-film debut, she had a small but memorable role as a rambunctious teen in the Warren Beatty vehicle "Shampoo" in 1975. She landed "Star Wars" two years later.

Warning: There are spoilers ahead if you haven't seen "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

There's still a lot we don't know about after seeing the new "Star Wars" movie. One of the biggest mysteries surrounds the new villain, Supreme Leader Snoke.

Since the moment I saw the character on screen, I've only had one thought about who Snoke could be: Darth Plagueis, the Sith Lord mentioned back in "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith."

It was my gut feeling when I saw him on screen last Tuesday evening at a screening, and it's something my brother, a big "Star Wars" fan, and I have been discussing ever since.

But Plagueis died a long time ago, right? I'll explain.

Let's lay out the evidence.

Who is Darth Plagueis?

Plagueis was a Sith Lord and the master to Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious. The important thing to know about him is that Plagueis was studying immortality and supposedly figured out how to conquer death.

Do you see where I'm going here?

In "Revenge of the Sith," Palpatine recounts the story of Plagueis to a young, troubled Anakin Skywalker.

From the clip:

Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side,he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.

Forget the stuff about the midi-chlorians and focus on the latter part of that sentence.

Palpatine says Plagueis was the only one who ever learned to conquer death. The problem: He was killed by his apprentice, Darth Sidious/Palpatine.

But what if he wasn't killed?

Maybe Plagueis was so well-versed in immortality that he either (1) figured out a way to fake his death or (2) figured out a way to bring himself back to life.

It's becoming a pretty popular Reddit theory.

Here's how one fan thinks it could have happened:

You create an illusion, or do die and self-resurrect, or are just gravely injured and able to heal using the Force. Now, as an injured/resurrected Sith Lord, you know you can't return and face your old apprentice one-on-one because he'll kick the crap out of you. However, you can watch from the shadows as he eliminates the Jedi Order, builds up the Empire, draws out the Son of Skywalker, and self-destructs, leaving you the perfect opportunity to swoop in, corral the Empire's remnants, and take control of the galaxy without needing to do any real legwork. Then, knowing Luke is the most powerful (and still living) Force user out there, you find a weak point you can exploit to take control of that power--what better than a disenchanted, emo youth of the same bloodline? Turn that youth to the Dark Side, bring down the new Jedi Order from within, and move your pieces into checkmate position.

Seems completely plausible and would tie nicely into the prequels. A thread like that would actually give them some on-going relevance.

What we know about Snoke

Not much!

Unlike his hologram in the film, he's not a giant. Snoke is over 7 feet tall and extremely thin. Many have taken that to mean he may be a member of the Muun, the same species as Plagueis.

Snoke has an awful head scar.

According to book, "The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Snoke was originally supposed to be female. That's one piece of information which throws a wrench into my thoughts. Let's leave that thought aside for now because it sounds like it was in an earlier draft and was changed.

Is Snoke Plagueis?

This is what I've been grappling with.

It would help explain that nasty scar on his head if Palpatine tried to/did kill him and he came back from the grave.

The reason I first thought Snoke was Plagueis was because I knew I had seen a similar face before the moment Snoke came on screen.

While I don't have any images of Snoke, here are a few images of Plagueis from toys and books. Tell me they don't look like Snoke:

Here's what comes up when you Google image search Plagueis:

Here's the cover of 2012's best-selling book on the Sith Lord. The cover, showing Palpatine kneeling before Plagueis, is reminiscent of scenes of Kylo Ren before Snoke in "The Force Awakens":

I'm aware the book is outside of "Star Wars" canon, but we know "The Force Awakens" is taking inspiration from the expanded universe in the new films. Just look at Kylo Ren's character.

How many tall, thin, creepy men can you have lurking around in the "Star Wars" universe?

Another Reddit user pointed out that the theme music for Snoke eerily matches a lot of the music used when Palpatine discusses Plagueis.

Here's Snoke's theme from "The Force Awakens":

And here's the music from the Plagueis scene in "Episode III":

But my brother then pointed out that that tune is a pretty general theme used for any Sith.

The best example of that, which I can't find a clip of, is from "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones," when Count Dooku meets up with Emperor Palpatine near the end of the film. Here's a compilation of the Emperor's theme music which has some undertones of the Snoke theme.

Let's say he's not Plagueis

Who could he be? Are we to believe he's just some random new addition to the film? It seems that General Leia Organa may have had some knowledge about who he was. Was Snoke a former ally who turned to the dark side?

The only other plausible theory I've seen is that he could be Emperor Palpatine, who figured out how to cheat death himself. I'm just not buying that one. It sounds pretty silly, but Palpatine does tell Anakin in "Episode III" that Plagueis taught his apprentice — Palpatine — everything he knew. Did he also teach Palpatine about saving others from death? Maybe. But Palpatine had his time. Right?

But he has to be Plagueis ... right?

Here's the one thing my brother keeps saying to me: "Star Wars" is supposed to be a poem. He's right. Lucas has said the movies are supposed to rhyme. "You see the echo of where it all is gonna go," Lucas says in a compilation video. "It's like poetry, sort of. They rhyme."

While I know Lucas is no longer involved in the new films, from what we've seen so far, it looks like Disney is trying to honor the past films — even the prequel series — by having connections to the earlier works. It's one reason why Episode VII feels so familiar.

Things have always been mentioned in earlier "Star Wars" films which don't make sense until later. The Plagueis comment, while it mostly explains where Anakin came from and hints at Palpatine's true identity, could have more meaning.

It makes more sense to bring a character full circle — someone who has been pulling the strings with the Skywalker lineage since Anakin — then to tack on a new character.

When Disney purchased Lucasfilm, they did get treatment scripts for the next three films, meaning that they would know who Lucas may have had in mind for the film's next Sith Lord. Maybe that was the return of Plagueis.

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NOW WATCH: A 'Star Wars' star snuck into showings of 'The Force Awakens,' and fans flipped out

It was only a matter of time, y'all: With "Fallout 4" still fresh and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" barely released, the inevitable combination of the two has finally arrived.

This is what happens when you mash-up the two:

Yup. Pretty great, right?

This is the work of one intrepid game modder — the concept of altering an existing game after release, usually on PC — with a passion for bringing the iconic Star Wars lightsaber into the post-nuclear apocalypse Boston of "Fallout 4." 

The lightsaber essentially replaces an in-game melee weapon — a sword or a dagger — and can be used the same way. It even makes lightsaber sounds! It all results in incredibly brutal images like the one above.

And this one:

And this one:

We'll spare you further brutality. 

Just kidding! Here's a crazy GIF of a lightsaber battle in "Fallout 4":

Interested in getting this mod for yourself? You'll need a PC version of "Fallout 4" and the instructions found in this video right here:

SEE ALSO: 'Fallout 4' looks subtly different on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation

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NOW WATCH: Here's the one reason you should buy 'Fallout 4'

"This IS the rebel light show you have been looking for," YouTuber Tom BetGeorge explains in the video description of his incredible holiday house light show, which is perfectly timed to a medley of "Star Wars" music. 

Take a look. The show opens with the main "Star Wars" theme. 

The show includes over 70,000 lights and costs about $80 in power costs to run the show for several hours every night, Tom BetGeorge also explains.

As the video continues, you'll hear other classic "Star Wars" songs, like the catchy tune played by the band in the Mos Eisley Cantina. 

If you're in the Tracy, California, area, you can watch the show live. If not, check out the whole video here or below. 

SEE ALSO: I toured the neighborhood with the best Christmas lights in America and was blown away

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NOW WATCH: A 'Star Wars' star snuck into showings of 'The Force Awakens,' and fans flipped out

Oscar Isaac is one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood right now and he's only about to get bigger. 

Often compared to 1970s movie stars like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, Isaac has become known in the past few years for churning out dark, brilliant performances in "Drive,""Inside Llewyn Davis," and 2014's "A Most Violent Year".

2015 has already been a stellar year for 36-year-old actor.

After an excellent performance in sci-fi indie "Ex Machina" and a lead role in HBO miniseries "Show Me a Hero," Isaac has his first blockbuster role in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

With an upcoming role in next year's "X-Men" sequel on the horizon, it looks Isaac is truly about to become a huge movie star. 

See how Oscar Isaac went from class troublemaker to future blockbuster star.

Oscar Isaac Hernandez was born in 1979 in Guatemala. His family left and moved all around the United States before finally settling in Miami.

Source: Details

Isaac shortened his name as a young actor in Miami to avoid being cast as the "Latino Gangster.""Being called Oscar Hernández in Miami is like being called John Smith; there are 15 pages of us in the phone book." said Isaac in 2014.

Source: The Telegraph

As a kid, he frequently got into trouble. In the seventh grade, Isaac was expelled from private school for many reasons, one of them being that he broke into somebody's ranch who bordered his school, and pet the animals.

Isaac liked to cause trouble at his private grade school when he was growing up. “I set off a fire extinguisher in the gym, defaced a mural, just stupid stuff,” he told The Globe And Mail in an interview.

Source: Details

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is finally here and we have so many questions! But none bigger than this one, these theories, though, could help. WARNING: Spoilers!

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Warning: There are spoilers ahead!

If you've seen "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" you're probably aware some of the best sequences from the trailers didn't make it into the final film.

One of those scenes is this one, which shows the pirate alien Maz Kanata handing off Anakin/Luke Skywalker's lightsaber to General Leia Organa.

It was seen in the second official teaser for the movie in which a voice-over from Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) tells viewers the force is strong in his family. He has it. His sister has it (cue above image), and some other unmentioned figure (most likely Rey) has it, too.

The above scene was supposed to occur shortly after the First Order attack on Maz Kanata's palace. Maz was supposed to head back to the Resistance base with Han, Chewie, and Finn and hand over the famed lightsaber to its owner's sister.

Why didn't it make it into the final cut?

Director J.J. Abrams just didn't think it was necessary.

That was a scene actually filmed, but we took out," Abrams told Entertainment Weekly after a Writers Guild of America screening and Q&A for the film. "At one point, Maz used to continue along with the characters back to the Resistance base, but we realized that she really had nothing to do there of value, except to have her sitting around."

"Lupita did film scenes on set for that sequence, but it felt like going right just to go left, and it was unnecessary. So we ended up leaving those things out," he continued. 

When the scene was included in the April trailer, Abrams said it was still in the movie.

"The moment was nice and the people who cut the trailer didn’t give a s–-," he joked to EW.

You can check out the 30 minute Q&A with Abrams and "The Force Awakens" screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan below.

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NOW WATCH: Everyone is obsessed with these 2 ‘Star Wars’ theories about the movie’s deepest mystery

It was only a matter of time until this happened.

Someone made a parody Twitter account for the new "Star Wars" villain, Kylo Ren. Since it launched December 21, Emo Kylo Ren (@kyloR3n) has amassed over 54,000 followers and counting.

lf you've seen "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," you should be following this account.

They nailed it.

Warning: There are some spoilers ahead!

The account parodies Adam Driver's performance as Han Solo and General Leia Organa's fiery son Ben Solo perfectly by imagining what little Kylo was like as a youngster.

We know from the film he has a bit of a temper when he doesn't get his way.

The account does everything from mock his love of Darth Vader ...

... to showing how a friendship with General Hux formed.

It even suggests he and Rey are indeed brother and sister and demonstrates a sibling rivalry between the two. 

 And naturally, it pokes fun at his perfectly coifed hair.

It's exactly what fans need to hold themselves over until the next chapter in the saga, which won't be here until 2017.

SEE ALSO: How World War II dogfights influenced 'Star Wars'

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NOW WATCH: Everyone is obsessed with these 2 ‘Star Wars’ theories about the movie’s deepest mystery

"The Ewoks are dead. All of them."

That's the disturbing first line of a white paper a physicist exclusively submitted to Tech Insider.

With "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"storming movie theaters, we had to know if George Lucas overlooked a critical moment where the last film in the series, "Return of the Jedi," left off 32 years ago.

In that movie, a moon-size weapon called the Death Star II orbits the forest moon Endor. The Rebel Alliance eventually blows up the colossal terror device, then celebrates among the trees with a race of hairy, intelligent friends called the Ewoks.

But detonating a giant metal sphere above the Ewok's lush green world is a terrible idea, according to 11 different physicists we asked. In fact, most agreed it'd trigger an "Endor holocaust."

Dave Minton, a planetary scientist at Purdue University and devoted "Star Wars" fan went so far as to provide a draft white paper. (We've embedded it at the end of this post if you want to get right to it.)

The "Endor Holocaust" fan theory dates back to 1997, when it first appeared on a website called TheForce.net. Curtis Saxton, an astrophysicist and "Star Wars" super-fan, argued in a 10,000-word essay that the doom of Endor and the Ewoks who live there "is an inevitable consequence of observable facts."

But many of Saxton's various measurements are open to interpretation, since depictions of the Death Star, Endor, and other details are inconsistent from one scene to the next, which is why we asked 11 physicists what would happen to Endor if the Death Star blew up.

Minton's dire conclusion is based a detailed, to-scale hologram projected in "Return of the Jedi."

From that image Minton extrapolated diameters, masses, velocities, and orbital paths of Endor and the Death Star.

His calculations show that the Death Star II is about 213 miles in diameter.

Since Ewoks, storm troopers, and rebels move like they do here on Earth, he assumes that the gravity of Endor is the same as our home planet's and therefore so is its mass. As the moon is much smaller than Earth, however, it's got to be incredibly dense.

"I estimate that the bulk density of Endor is about 14,350 kg/m3," Minton wrote in his paper for Tech Insider. "This is more than iron (8000 kg/m3) and less than uranium (19,100 kg/m3), so while the composition of Endor must be quite unusual, it is not impossible."

Minton also noted that the Death Star is in a unnaturally stable orbit given how close it is to the moon.

"So I have to assume that the Death Star is being maintained in its position using something like [anti-gravity] repulsorlifts," he wrote.

When the rebels and Ewoks destroy the shield generator on Endor — a device that protected the Death Star — Minton assumes the repulsorlifts there got destroyed, too. He also figures the Death Star is not vaporized and mostly shatters into a field of loose rubble.

"[M]ore or less what happens after the destruction is that the entire mass of the Death Star simply falls onto the location of the shield generator," he said.

Minton said the falling rubble field would look something like a colossal asteroid striking the Earth.

Striking Endor at more than 6,000 mph, "a Death Star-mass ball of fragments will leave behind a 700 km diameter crater,"Minton said. "This is almost 4 times larger than the Chicxulub crater in Mexico that is associated with the dinosaur extinction."

"The aftermath of this impact would be to obliterate everything on the surface," he wrote. "No Ewok could withstand an impact of that magnitude."

And it gets worse.

"It is likely that the atmosphere would be so heated up ... that every body of water on the entire world would be flash heated to steam, and every forest would ignite into a global firestorm."

Read Minton's full draft white paper here.

Note: If you're a planetary scientist or physicist who can run simulations that test ideas critical to the Endor Holocaust theory, Tech Insider would love to hear from you. Please reach out to us at science@techinsider.io with "Endor Holocaust simulation" as the subject line.

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NOW WATCH: Neil deGrasse Tyson explains what 'Star Wars' gets right about science

Warning: Spoilers ahead. Do not read this fan theory if you don't want to know what happens in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

Now that it's been nearly a week since "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" premiered in theaters, fans are donning their best tinfoil hats to come up with elaborate theories about the franchise.

Whether it concerns Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader Snoke, or the mysterious Rey, there are lots of plot points J.J. Abrams left fans to mull over while we wait until 2017 for Episode VIII.

This is your last chance to stop reading for spoilers.

Tumblr user Lele saw the movie twice with her father before the two came up with their own fan theory — and it's gaining traction online.

"Ok so my dad just came up with the coolest theory on the reason Kylo Ren turned to the dark side and my life will never be the same," Tumblr user Lele wrote on Saturday.

The theory goes something like this: Kylo Ren didn't turn to the dark side beause of his own selfish ambitions, but in order to kill Supreme Leader Snoke, the ominous bad guy in the film. Lele's dad reasons that Kylo was forced to kill his own father Han Solo to become a full Sith, which requires you to sacrifice someone you love to complete your training.

The reason he needed to become a full Sith, according to Lele and her father, is that both the dark and light sides are necessary to destroy Snoke.

"They are always saying that the dark side and the light side are together in the force," Lele wrote on Tumblr. "They need the personification of both sides (Kylo and Rey) in order to be strong enough to destroy Snoke."

The theory is interesting, but not without its problems. Lele argues that Kylo Ren is driven by his obsession with Darth Vader because he wants to help 'finish what Anakin started,' but Abrams has said before that it's the idea of Darth Vader and his power that drives Kylo Ren, not the actual person behind the mask.

Lele and her father also believe that Luke and Rey may know about Kylo Ren's plan as well, an idea with little evidence from the actual film.

And while we're pretty confident Kylo Ren didn't join the dark side to take down Snoke, the idea that the dark and light sides are necessary to defeat someone as evil as Snoke is intriguing. Perhaps Kylo and Rey will be the two to defeat Snoke in the end, not unlike Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker killing Emperor Palpatine together in "Return of the Jedi."

"It'll be literally the dark side and the light side joining up to defat [defeat] one enemy as one, which is basically what the force is," Lele wrote.

You can read the entire Tumblr post in its all-caps entirety below:

OK SO WE GOT OUT OF OUR SECOND THE FORCE AWAKENS SHOWING AND MY DAD WAS DRIVING US HOME AND OUT OF NOWHERE HE WAS LIKE: Oh my god. WHAT IF KYLO REN CHOSE TO GO TO THE DARK SIDE SO HE COULD HELP THE LIGHT SIDE! AND I WAS LIKE WHAT! SO HE WAS LIKE HEAR ME OUT WHAT IF HE WENT TO THE DARK SIDE JUST SO HE COULD KILL SNOKE!!!! 

AND THATS WHY HE’S SO CONFLICTED, AND THATS WHY HE FEELS THE TEMPTATION OF THE LIGHT SIDE STRONGER THAN THE DARK!!!!! 

THATS WHY HE TALKS TO VADER’S HELMET, BECAUSE HE IS GONNA FINISH WHAT ANAKIN, THE CHOSEN ONE, STARTED!!! 

HE HAD TO COMPLETELY TURN AWAY FROM HIS FAMILY IN ORDER TO DO THAT! TO BECOME A SITH FULLY AND COMPLETELY YOU HAVE TO SACRIFICE SOMEONE YOU LOVE TO DEATH, IN HIS CASE IT WAS HAN! 

THATS WHY HE TELLS HAN HE FEELS LIKE HE’S BEING TORN APART INSIDE, BECAUSE HE DOESN’T WANT TO DO IT AT ALL, BUT IT’S THE ONLY POSSIBLE WAY TO BECOME A SITH AND COMPLETE HIS TASK!!!!!   KYLO LITERALLY UTTER THE WORDS “WILL YOU HELP ME” TO HAN, AND HAN SAYS “ANYTHING YOU NEED” (OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT I CANT REMEMBER)! WHAT HE’S ASKING IS IF HAN WILL DIE IN ORDER FOR HIM TO COMPLETE HIS TASK.

THATS WHY IT LOOKED LIKE HE KNEW WHO REY WAS, BECAUSE HE NEEDS TO PROTECT HER THATS WHY HE OFFERS HER TO BE HER TEACHER, HE NEEDS SOMEONE AS POWERFUL AS REY IT’LL BE LITERALLY THE DARK SIDE AND THE LIGHT SIDE JOINING UP TO DEFEAT ONE ENEMY TOGETHER AS ONE, WHICH IS BASICALLY WHAT THE FORCE IS.

THEY LIVE SIDE BY SIDE IN IT THATS WHY HE’S SO CONFLICTED ALL THE TIME, THATS WHY HIS FIGHT STYLE ISNT LIKE A SITH’S AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!

THEY ARE ALWAYS SAYING THAT THE DARK SIDE AND THE LIGHT ARE TOGETHER IN THE FORCE.

THEY NEED THE PERSONIFICATION OF BOTH SIDES (KYLO AND REY) IN ORDER TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO DESTROY SNOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HE LITERALLY HAS TO BECOME A SITH TO JOIN FORCES WITH A JEDI 

BECAUSE THE LIGHT IN HIM IS SO MUCH STRONGER THAN THE DARK AND HE HAS TO GET RID OF IT IN ORDER TO DO WHAT HE HAS TO DO AND SAVE THE GALAXY WITH REY AND LUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

HE NEEDS TO KNOW WHERE LUKE IS AT ALL TIMES SO THE FIRST ORDER WONT CAPTURE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT IF THEY STAGED LUKE’S JEDI ORDER MASSACRE!!! WHAT IF LUKE KNOWS EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT IF KYLO KNOWS THEY LEFT HER IN JAKKU SO SNOKE WOULD THINK SHE DIED IN THE MASSACRE ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER JEDIS!!!!!!!! AND THATS WHY HE REACTED THAT WAY WHEN THE GUY SAID THE DROID HAD “HELP FROM A GIRL IN JAKKU”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

You know how a lot of people are saying: OH BUT IT LOOKS SO MUCH LIKE EPISODE IV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!! I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S ON PURPOSE!!!!!! BECAUSE THE PATH THEY ARE TAKING IS GONNA BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! EPISODE VII WAS LITERALLY JUST AN INTRODUCTION!!!! CALM DOWN PEOPLE PLEASE IT’S GONNA BE AWESOME! 

THIS IS STAR WARS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT. A PLOT TWIST LIKE THIS IS MANDATORY WE ARE NOT GETTING “REMAKES” OF THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY I PROMISE YOU.

[I don’t know] if you like it but I THINK ITS SO F***ING AWESOME IF THATS THE REASON — IT’S THE ONLY POSSIBLE GOOD EXPLANATION IN MY HEAD. 

WHY [WOULD] SOMEONE THAT HAS LEIA AS HIS MOTHER, HAN AS HIS FATHER, AND LUKE SKYWALKER AS HIS UNCLE TURN TO THE DARK SIDE?

HAN DYING WOULDN’T BE FOR NOTHING, HE LITERALLY DIED SO HIS FAMILY COULD FINISH SAVING THE GALAXY.

REY, KYLO, LUKE, LEIA, FINN, AND POE ARE GONNA DESTROY THE LAST SITH TOGETHER AND BRING BALANCE TO THE FORCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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NOW WATCH: Everyone is obsessed with these 2 ‘Star Wars’ theories about the movie’s deepest mystery

Rentrak is giving Hollywood and theater owners an early Christmas present, projecting on Tuesday that domestic box-office revenue will reach a record $11 billion in 2015, the first time total ticket sales have hit that mark.

The industry leader for box-office grosses is making the call based on the formidable early performance of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which has crossed a record $300 million in its fifth day in release, and the lucrative Christmas rush yet to come.

If revenue comes in at $11 billion, that would beat the record set in 2013 with $10.9 billion. It would also put North American ticket sales up 6.3 percent over 2014 ($10.4 billion). Through Tuesday, year-to-date revenue is roughly $10.5 billion. "Star Wars" is expected to continue to do huge business over the holidays. A flurry of other new titles are also hitting the marquee on Christmas Day, including "Daddy's Home,""Concussion" and "Joy." And for families, there's "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip."

Because of increased ticket prices, record revenue doesn't equal record attendance. And it's been a year of dramatic highs and lows, with some Hollywood studios seeing huge misses, most notably Warner Bros.

"Even if attendance were flat or even slightly down over the past few years, the fact that we are breaking records left and right in 2015 proves that, despite a level of competition from the small screen and from myriad entertainment options that is stronger than ever before in our history, the robust nature of the movie industry today is a total win for a decidedly old-school (and arguably the most singular and impactful) way of consuming filmed entertainment," said Rentrak's Paul Dergarabedian.

To date, the five top-grossing 2015 movies in North America are "Jurassic World" ($652.3 million), "Avengers: Age of Ultron" ($459 million), "Inside Out" ($356.5 million), "Furious 7" ($353 million) and "Minions" ($336 million). "Force Awakens" is already No. 6 and is climbing fast. It could come in at $325 million or higher by the end of Tuesday and reach close to $600 million by Dec. 31.

Universal and Disney — whose titles account for 40 percent of 2015 domestic box-office revenue to date at 22.3 percent and 17.3 percent, respectively — own the list. Universal is home to "Jurassic World,""Furious 7" and "Minions," while Disney is home to Marvel's "Age of Ultron," Pixar's "Inside Out" and Lucasfilm's "Force Awakens."

Said Dergarabedian, "From 'American Sniper' to 'Jurassic World' to 'Straight Outta Compton,' 'Creed' and, of course, now 'Star Wars' and a slew of great indie fare in between, this was a year that should dispel any notion that the movie-theater experience is an outmoded or irrelevant pastime."

SEE ALSO: RANKED: Every Quentin Tarantino movie from best to worst

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NOW WATCH: Animated map shows the history of immigration to the US

Portland's Gene Lu has been using the Nike+ app to turn his running routine into an outlet for his love for "Star Wars."

The app lets you trace your runs, ostensibly so you can better understand your routes, but often actually to impress to friends on social media. Lu has used the app for a higher purpose, and has created charming drawings of Darth Vader, a Stormtrooper, and more iconic Star Wars characters. The drawings have become more detailed since his first foray, which seems to have been a TIE fighter.

As The Next Web points out, Lu definitely seems more attuned to the Dark Side of the Force based on his choices of subjects so far. If you live in Portland and want to re-create these runs yourself, The Portland Mercury directs to links where Lu has uploaded step-by-step instructions for several routes.

But, beware: Most of them are over 10 miles long.

We should also note that Lu is the associate creative director at R/GA, an ad agency that counts Nike as a client, which most likely influenced his choice of medium.

See Lu's photos below and follow him onInstagram:

SEE ALSO: Feast your eyes on the stunning pictures that won this year's iPhone Photography Awards

A photo posted by Gene Lu (@genelu) on Dec 19, 2015 at 2:44pm PST

A photo posted by Gene Lu (@genelu) on Dec 12, 2015 at 10:53am PST

A photo posted by Gene Lu (@genelu) on Nov 27, 2015 at 12:53pm PST

Phil Tippett has had a rich and varied career in Hollywood.

He started in stop-motion animation with the original 1977 "Star Wars," creating the masks of the Cantina aliens. That started a relationship with George Lucas that then branched out into work in visual effects on "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,""RoboCop," and more recently the "Twilight" films.

But in a new video interview with Vice profiling his work, Tippett admits he was under the influence for at least one of the "Star Wars" movies.

"I took LSD when I was working on 'Return of the Jedi,'" he says in the opening of the video. "And it's fine. It was, like, very calming."

To anyone who grew up with the nightmarish sight of Jabba the Hutt and his palace, in retrospect, this may not seem like a huge surprise. But Tippett said it did end up hindering his work.

"And so I decided to go back to work. When I walked into the blue-screen stage, it was like, 'Ahhh.' I took way too much," he continued.

It certainly didn't stop him, though. The bearded Tippett, based in Berkeley, California, is one of the most admired visual effects supervisors in the business.

Watch the Vice profile of "Star Wars" animator Phil Tippett below:

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NOW WATCH: There's a conspiracy theory that the Miss Universe disaster wasn't really Steve Harvey's fault

If you felt that some of the biggest movies this year were very familiar to those you’d seen in your youth, you’re not alone.

Four of the most gigantic blockbusters in 2015 heavily extracted movie plots and characters that were popular decades ago to create hits that are hard to define — a relatively new, unique, and apparently successful breed in Hollywood.

Some have called them “legacyquels” or “remakequels.” They're ostensibly sequels, but ones that closely follow the models of their franchises' origins, and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," already clearly the biggest movie of the year, is a prime example.

However you want to label them, Hollywood sees their worth — so expect more.

But let’s look back on why we had a sense of deja vu watching these four movies.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 10 best movies of 2015

“The Force Awakens”

Global box office: $766 million (and counting) 

After years of going through prequels in which George Lucas attempted to show us the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader, director J.J. Abrams and writer Lawrence Kasdan decided to delve back into the original trilogy to make “Episode VII: The Force Awakens.” And I don’t just mean bringing back familiar faces like Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and Luke. The structure of “The Force Awakens” feels like you’re watching a hyped-up version of “Episode IV: A New Hope.” Everything from an attack on a giant globe-like space station to the lead character being a loner from a desert planet who has a special talent — it's designed to take us back to our first encounter with this universe.

“Jurassic World”

Global box office: $1.7 billion

Director Colin Trevorrow and writing partner Derek Connolly also geeked out on the past, with a blessing from Steven Spielberg himself, to bring the “Jurassic” franchise back. In “Jurassic World," the legacy of Jurassic Park is seeped in the storyline. A technician can’t help but show off his vintage t-shirt with the park’s old logo. And when kids Gray and Zach find themselves stuck inside the park with the dinosaurs, it’s coming across the welcome center from the old park that gets them out of trouble. Not to mention that the hit of “Jurassic Park,” the T-Rex, shows up in grand fashion at the end of the movie.

“Creed”

Global box office: $97.6 million

To bring life back into the “Rocky” franchise, director Ryan Coogler moved the focus to the Creed family, specifically an illegitimate son named Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) who dreams to one day be as great as his father, Apollo. Like “The Force Awakens” does with "A New Hope," Coogler uses a similar arc from the original “Rocky” to tell the story. An underdog — this time, though, with a pedigree surname — who trains his butt off, yes, even sprinting down the streets of Philly, as he prepares for a fight that will make or break his career. And then there’s Rocky Balboa being Adonis’ manager, an obvious homage to Mickey managing Rocky in the earlier films.