From the trailers it looks like instead of a pure sequel we may be getting somewhat of a reboot. I talked about this on our podcast "Help! I Married a Nerd" but I want to elaborate some more on that.
First off this is purely speculation as I have not seen the movie, I'm only going by what we've seen in the trailers but what's in the trailers is pretty telling. Not only is the Empire (or "New Order" as they are now calling themselves) still using T.I.E. Fighters they are visually identical to the T.I.E. Fighters we've seen in the classic trilogy. The X-Wings? Also pretty much the same save for new intakes. From behind though, you can't tell the difference at all. Star Destroyers? Check. Death Star? Check. Storm Troopers in white armor? Check. Sith covered head to toe in black armor with silver trim? Check. There is just so much about this movie that harkens back to the classic trilogy that it's simply too hard to ignore the possibility that this movie isn't a true sequel.
It's very similar to DC's The New 52 Batgirl. In that series Batgirl references "The Killing Joke" several times and there is even a short story line that branches off of it. "The Killing Joke" of course came out many years ago in a previous continuity and Batgirl becomes Oracle after she is left paralyzed from the waist down. Despite the frequent references to stories long since past, however, Batgirl is above else a complete reboot of the character. Her personality is different, her costume is different, the art style is different, she has a new roommate, her relationship with Nightwing is somewhat different and all of that is what keeps Batgirl from being a true continuation of the series. Episode VII so far as all those same ingredients, new characters alongside the old, the previous story is only hinted at while the current timeline remains largely the same and if the rumors are true before this movie is out one or more of the old characters will be dead. All of this to me screams "reboot."
Is that a bad thing? Well it depends on who you are. Even I will admit that the Luke, Leia and Han story has pretty well run it's course in the Expanded Universe. Pick any number of novels written about them and you get a very rich tapestry that spans many decades. However, as a result there really isn't much left to say. I think this, above all else is the main reason Disney declared the E.U. as non-canon. There just aren't many, if any stories left to tell about those characters unless you start over from scratch. And since they are approaching 40 years old why would you want to? Maybe a reboot is just what the doctor ordered, give us a new, fresh take on our favorite characters before passing on to the new guard. Maybe it's not. Maybe it's best if we just pick up a new part of the timeline completely separate from this one and tell an entirely brand new story in the same universe.
It wouldn't be the first time.