20 Biggest Reveals From J.J. Abrams' STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Director's Commentary
We've rounded up the biggest secrets and reveals in J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens commentary addressing everything from the Knights of Ren to scrapped scenes and the death of Han Solo!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens took us back to a Galaxy Far, Far Away in style last year, but the movie's journey to becoming a reality was not an easy one. That's something which is evident in the newly released director's commentary from J.J. Abrams, but as well as shedding some light on the lengthy production, the filmmaker has also spilled the beans on some pretty massive secrets and surprises.
So, from the part of Harrison Ford which had to be altered with CG to a number of new details about the story and characters like Poe Dameron and Kylo Ren (who exactly did those ashes belong to?), what you'll find here is a breakdown of the twenty biggest reveals made by the director. Believe it or not, he even offers up a few noteworthy hints about what we should expect from Star Wars Episode VIII...
20. No, BB-8 Isn't Giving Finn The Finger
There's been a lot of speculation that BB-8 is actually giving Finn the finger rather than the thumbs up during their exchange on the Millennium Falcon. In the director's commentary, Abrams makes it clear that it was actually a thumbs up, but believe it or not, it wasn't actually his idea. After watching an early version of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney and Pixar's John Lasseter suggested that BB-8 should display a little more physical comedy, so this now iconic scene was added fairly late in the game.
19. The Sinking TIE Fighter Was Steven Spielberg's Idea
You need only look at Super 8 for proof of how Steven Spielberg has influenced the career of Abrams, and it turns out that the filmmaker's "ally and partner in crime" ended up weighing in on some key moments in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was actually his idea for the crashed TIE Fighter to explode as it was pulled into the sands of Jakku, something which left us - and Finn - thinking Poe Dameron must have died. Like most of the movie's special effects, that explosion was done practically.
18. Those Aren't Darth Vader's Ashes
Kylo Ren's fascination with Darth Vader is established fairly early on in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and many of us were quick to assume that the ashes he places his helmet on probably belonged to the Dark Lord of the Sith. After all, if he has his grandfather's charred helmet, it's not too much of a leap to believe he might have got his hands on those as well. Abrams reveals that, in reality, "The idea is those are the ashes of his victims." That just goes to show how messed up the son of Han and Leia really is.
17. Han And Leia's Very Different Farewell
Rumours pointed to Han Solo meeting his maker in the movie long before it reached theaters, but if you were lucky enough to avoid spoilers, his death at the hands of Kylo Ren would have definitely come as a huge shock. Interestingly, Abrams shot a different version of his final scene with Leia where he would have said to her, "There’s something I want to tell you," and her response was, "Tell me when you get back." That was scrapped because Abrams decided it made his impending death too obvious.
16. We Were Going To See General Hux Save Kylo Ren
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens' final act, Supreme Leader Snoke orders General Hux to find Kylo Ren and evacuate the planet before the Starkiller Base blows up. The villain seems to find the Sith apprentice remarkably quickly, but we never actually get to see that "rescue" happen. Well, it turns out that Abrams shot a scene of Hux finding Ren but decided to cut it because it didn't feel necessary to show it. That's understandable, but it could have led to an interesting interaction between the two.
15. The Movie Was Going To Open With The History Of Luke's Lightsaber
We've known for a while now that Star Wars: The Force Awakens was originally going to kick off with Luke's lightsaber floating through space, but it turns out that the plan was to actually trace its journey to Maz Kanata in the opening few minutes. That would have marked a first for the franchise as we've never seen time pass in that way, though the director doesn't elaborate on where we would have seen it travel. He does however promise that , "There are other ways we can tell that story later."
14. The "Force Back" Was Going To Take Us To Cloud City
The "Force Back" Rey experiences after touching Luke's lightsaber for the first time results in a number of visions of the past, but it should come as no surprise to learn that sequence went through many different iterations. One prominently featured the battle between Luke and Darth Vader in Cloud City (probably to help remind audiences where that weapon actually hailed from), but Abrams decided to ditch that after realising it would be better to focus on her past and tease the Knights of Ren.
13. Why A Member Of The Legends Of Tomorrow Was Cut
Maisie Richardson-Sellers (who is currently starring as Vixen in Legends of Tomorrow) was only in Star Wars: The Force Awakens for a split second, but she was supposed to have a much more significant role in the movie. Unfortunately for her, it was trimmed down because original screenwriter Michael Arndt suggested to the director that he ditch the scenes of Leia dispatching Korr to warn the Senate about the threat of The First Order so it would give her first scene with Han a greater emotional impact.
12. Kylo Ren's Family Was Almost Revealed Straight Away
The reveal that Kylo Ren is actually the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia comes at least a third of the way into Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but Abrams didn't always intend to save that. During the movie's opening, the plan was for Lor San Tekka (Max Von Sydow) to directly reference the villain's mother and father, but the director quickly realising that "it seemed too soon" to give away such a key plot point. As a result, he had Supreme Leader Snoke reveal their connection at a later point in the movie.
11. Poe Dameron Was Supposed To Die
As hard as it is to believe now, Poe Dameron was supposed to stay dead after that TIE Fighter crashed. That no doubt would have upset fans and been a waste of a character with a lot of potential, and it wasn't until Oscar Isaac made it clear that he wasn't happy with being killed off so soon that Abrams changed his mind. It helped that a producer reminded the director that Poe lived in an earlier draft, so the filmmaker decided to revert to the "feel-good" story by bringing Poe back in time for the final act.
10. Kylo Ren And Rey Have Never Met Before
There's been a lot of speculation about the relationship between Kylo Ren and Rey. Are they brother and sister? Cousins? Former trainees of Luke Skywalker? That's something we're unlikely to discover until Star Wars Episode VIII is released, but many fans remain convinced that these two have some history before the events of The Force Awakens. That's not the case according to Abrams as he makes it clear here that while Kylo knows of her, they've never met before arriving on Takodana.
9. Why Captain Phasma Was Sent To The Trash Compactor
Before the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it appeared as if Captain Phasma would be a key part of the movie. That sadly wasn't the case, and it's now up to Rian Johnson to give her a meatier role in the sequel. Something many fans have taken issue with is the way she was dispatched off screen in a trash compactor, and Abrams has now revealed that because they didn't want to kill the character off, they needed to find a quick way to get rid of her so the climax wasn't further complicated.
8. A Change To Rey And Finn's Relationship
After Harrison Ford broke his leg on the set of the movie, Abrams was given some time to reevaluate certain other key elements. Among them was the relationship between Rey and Finn. Realising that their contentious behaviour towards each other wasn't working, many of the scenes they shot on location in Dubai were reshot on set in Pinewood. Among the moments which were removed was Finn telling Rey that he was a rogue Stormtrooper and Rey having no idea who Luke Skywalker was.
7. Harrison Ford's Digital Hair Extensions
Ford's accident closed down production for two months, though a number of scenes with the actor - including the now iconic, "Chewie, we're home." - had already been shot. The actor's hair had obviously grown during that time, so in order to make the scenes they'd alread filmed match up with Ford's current look, CG was used to lengthen it so everything looked exactly right! That may seem like an unnecessary expense, but it ensured continuity and was a much cheaper option that reshoots.
6. Adam Driver's Real Life Rage
During the scenes where Kylo Ren is pursuing Rey through the woods, Adam Driver apparently encountered some pretty significant problems. The actor kept tripping up over rocks because he couldn't see properly through the mask, and Abrams claims that Driver used that frustration and anger to further influence the way Ren carried himself here. We obviously didn't get to see the villain stumbling around in the final cut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but that is included in the blooper reel!
5. J.J. Abrams Regrets Not Having Chewbacca Comfort Leia
One of the biggest issues fans had with Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the fact that Leia and Chewbacca appear to ignore each other following the destruction of the Starkiller Base and the demise of Han Solo. Abrams admits to regretting this decision and calls it an understandable distraction for fans who can't fathom why the two didn't embrace. However, the director points out that he thought it was important to have Leia and Rey, "both Force-strong and bound by their loss and their strength."
4. Kylo Ren Really Was Torn About Killing Han Solo
There's been a lot of speculation that Kylo Ren was always planning to kill his father, but Abrams confirms that the villain really was struggling to choose between the dark and light side of the Force. "I think that Ben was legitimately going to give up… but the sun finally is drained from the sky… and then darkness takes over. For Ben, this seals the deal - it’s the ultimate proof to Snoke that he can be trusted and will not be seduced by the light. And I think the instant that he’s done it, he regrets it."
3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens' One Fully CGI Set
While green screens were used to enhance many of Star Wars: The Force Awakens' practical sets, there was only one scene shot entirely on them, and that's the confrontation between Ben Solo and his father. Abrams simply couldn't decide what it should look like, so shooting it like this ensured he would have the time to come up with something at a later stage in production. He also reveals that Han Solo scribe Jon Kasdan helped to write the iconic hero's death scene, so the character is clearly in good hands.
2. J.J. Abrams Knows The Backstories Of The Knights Of Ren And Maz Kanata
In case you were under the impression that Lucasfilm is making the new Star Wars trilogy up as they go along, Abrams confirms that they do actually have an entire history in mind for The Knights of Ren. He doesn't provide any further details unfortunately, but it sounds like we can expect to learn more about them in Episode VIII. He also confirms that Maz has a history which was going to be explored in The Force Awakens, but adds that it's now being saved for somewhere further down the line.
1. Why R2-D2 Spent The Whole Movie Sleeping
Abrams offers some clarification on why R2-D2 was asleep during the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, explaining that the droid is actually spending that time sitting idle scouring his memory in order to find the clue needed to find Luke Skywalker. He's had those maps since jacking into the Death Star's computers back in A New Hope, but he downloaded so much date, it's taken years to find. Interestingly, the R2-D2 that wakes up to reveal the map was brought to life entirely with special effects.
Which of these big reveals from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens director's commentary is your favourite? Have we missed any you picked up on? As always, share your thoughts in the usual place.
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