Star Wars: The Force Awakens (also known as Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) is a 2015 American epic space opera film produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. Produced by Lucasfilm and Abrams' production company Bad Robot Productions, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the first installment in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, following Return of the Jedi (1983), and the seventh episode of the nine-part "Skywalker saga". The film's ensemble cast includes Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Max von Sydow. Set thirty years after Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens follows Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Han Solo's search for Luke Skywalker and their fight in the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa and veterans of the Rebel Alliance, against Kylo Ren and the First Order, a successor to the Galactic Empire.

The film was announced after The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Lucasfilm in October 2012. The film is the first Star Wars film to not extensively involve franchise creator George Lucas, who only served as a creative consultant in the early stages of production. The film was produced by Abrams, his longtime collaborator Bryan Burk, and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of the original trilogy films The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi, rewrote an initial script by Michael Arndt. John Williams, composer for the previous episodic films, returned to compose the score. Principal photography began in April 2014 on a $259–306 million budget and concluded the following November. Filming took place on sets at Pinewood Studios in England, and on location mainly in Abu Dhabi, Iceland, and Ireland.

The Force Awakens premiered in Los Angeles on December 14, 2015, and was released in the United States on December 18. It received positive reviews for its screenplay, direction, acting performances (particularly those of Ford, Driver, Ridley, Isaac, and Boyega), musical score, visual effects, editing, and action sequences, although some critics found the movie too similar to A New Hope (1977). It broke various box office records and became the highest-grossing installment in the franchise, the highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada, the highest-grossing film of 2015, and the third-highest-grossing film at the time of its release, with a worldwide gross of over $2 billion and a net profit of over $780 million. When box office is adjusted for inflation, the film is the top-grossing sequel of all time in North America. The Force Awakens received numerous accolades, including five nominations at the 88th Academy Awards and four nominations at the 69th British Academy Film Awards, where it won the award for Best Special Visual Effects. Two sequels within the sequel trilogy have been released: The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019).