When Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on December 18, it will be the first new Star Wars movie in 10 years. With familiar Star Wars characters emblazoned on everything from action figures to lunch boxes to CoverGirl makeup to sacks of oranges, as well a near-constant stream of trailers and TV spots, its ubiquity is difficult to ignore. Advance ticket sales have already exceeded $50 million and the film is projected to make as much as $200 million in its opening weekend, according to some estimates, so it’s safe to say that excitement for The Force Awakens has reached a fever pitch.

But in all the hubbub, no one has stopped to ask why now is the right time for the galaxy far, far away to make its triumphant return. After all, it’s not as though it ever went away; a steady stream of video games, novels, comics, and animated television series like Star Wars Rebels have filled the Star Wars-shaped hole in our hearts in the interim. But why is now the right time for Star Wars to return to the big screen?

While many, like myself, are bursting at the seams with excitement for the new film, others are raising an eyebrow at the new sequel trilogy. Perhaps it’s lingering resentment over how the prequel trilogy was handled or perhaps it’s cynicism over the fact that we’re now going to get a new Star Wars every year until we die. Still, in order to get to the bottom of the issue, I went straight to the source and asked the cast and crew of The Force Awakens why now was exactly the right time for a brand new Star Wars.

Do you think now is the right time? Are we heading on a path to oversaturation? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist, and the author of books about Avengers and Star Wars. You can follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).

The Force Awakens cast talks about their earliest Star Wars memories