The return of the Stormtroopers is a good thing for the future of the Star Wars saga, but their role in the forthcoming sequel trilogy has left many fans confused, and fearful that the new trilogy will just be a rehash of the dynamic seen in the "original" trilogy, a repeat of the Rebel alliance vs the Empire. Thankfully it seems what we will instead see an evolution, a progression of that dynamic, as director J. J. Abrams explained recently to Empire...
"Kylo Ren is not a Sith. He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force
"That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again? What could be born of that? Could The First Order exist as a group that actually admired The Empire? Could the work of The Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn’t get done?"
So the First Order is the Empire reborn by those whom believe that the Empire was a good idea, with Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren being practioneers of the Dark Side of the Force, whom view Darth Vader as a martyr to the Empires cause. Thus, by extension, the Resistance will likely be striving to bring back democracy and the Galactic Senate.
