UPDATE 2! J. J. Abrams on Luke, the Upcoming The Force Awakens Promo Campaign, and Darth Vader’s Grandchildren.

JJ Abrams in The Falcon

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens director J. J. Abrams was recently interviewed by The Sydney Morning Herald. In the video, he clarifies why there’s not a (new) shot of Luke in it, how much more work needs to be done on the film, and a status update on John Williams.

 

 

His statement that Luke’s absence was “no accident” (even though the cloaked figure resting his hand on R2-D2 is strongly been implied to be Luke) strongly indicates that his mysterious appearance in the film must be at a crucial moment in the story – presumably, something so important that even hinting at it would be seen as a huge spoiler. The final cut and being expected to be finished within three or four weeks from now isn’t too surprising, either – most movies tend to have their final cuts submitted about half a month before the official distribution of the movie, so that means that The Force Awakens should be done with more than enough time to spare for its mid-December release. John Williams will apparently be making one more pass around to record the score of the film before that time is up. Also a good sign – J. J. Abrams has noted that he’s seen enthusiasm toward the movie from people who aren’t even big fans of Star Wars.

 

Watch out, Jurassic World – it looks like you’ve got a serious competitor for the title of the most profitable movie of 2015!

 

 

UPDATE!

 

3 weeks ago, when we first told you when to expect the first full Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, we also told you that it will be the last one. Now J.J. Abrams himself confirmed this in another interview with ExtraTV:

 

 

So in the next 50 days you can expect only commercials and TV spots for TFA! This is great news! Finally, a movie that didn’t show its entire plot in the trailers and TV spots.

 

 

UPDATE 2!

 

In another video, this time from Vanity Fair, J.J. Abrams gets to answer multiple questions from all kinds of people. Surprisingly the maker himself – George Lucas also got a chance to ask J.J. the curious question “What happened to Darth Vader’s grandchildren?”.

 

 

Anyone still doubt that we will see some young Solo and/or Skywalker kids in TFA?

 

+ posts

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

191 thoughts on “UPDATE 2! J. J. Abrams on Luke, the Upcoming The Force Awakens Promo Campaign, and Darth Vader’s Grandchildren.

  • October 27, 2015 at 3:12 am
    Permalink

    I’m buying the soundtrack right after I see the movie on opening day. I wonder if there will be an extended 2-CD soundtrack released at the same time as a conventional 1-CD score.

    • October 27, 2015 at 4:09 am
      Permalink

      What’s a CD?

      • October 27, 2015 at 4:11 am
        Permalink

        lol

      • October 27, 2015 at 4:25 am
        Permalink

        I have this 12 year old alert here in my pocket. I really hope I don’t have do dig it up.

      • October 27, 2015 at 4:59 am
        Permalink

        Something that people who actually like music buy to listen to, instead of a shitty iTunes download.

        Physical media…it rocks!

        I’m buying the LP record! 😉

        • October 27, 2015 at 7:25 am
          Permalink

          Good idea! My buddy still has the LP from ANH, mint collector edition…I want to steal it soo bad.

        • October 27, 2015 at 7:33 am
          Permalink

          I want it on vinyl

          • October 27, 2015 at 11:53 pm
            Permalink

            Ah… supremely fond memories of Star Wars black-covered double-album vinyl sound track when I was 16.

            (Sigh…)

        • October 27, 2015 at 12:56 pm
          Permalink

          iTunes being 256 kbps is anything but shitty, the difference between this and lossless is hardly noticeable for anyone but mastering engineers..

          having said that, the difference between anologue and digital is dramatic. get a vinyl

          • October 27, 2015 at 3:32 pm
            Permalink

            The difference is actually quite noticeable to anyone with ears. Try having yours checked.

            But thanks. I’ve been collecting music for well over 40 years now, so I got all this covered.

          • October 27, 2015 at 7:44 pm
            Permalink

            Yeah, seen that stuff. I guess some of us have better hearing than others.

          • October 27, 2015 at 7:46 pm
            Permalink

            I guess so. Or is it just a need to justify past purchases?

            Placebos can be very powerful.

          • October 27, 2015 at 8:00 pm
            Permalink

            No need to go there dude.

            Been amassing my music collection for decades, and digitizing it for 20 years. I’ve got an ear for these things at this point…and scary good hearing.

          • October 27, 2015 at 10:19 pm
            Permalink

            People will believe what they want to believe, even with evidence to the contrary staring them in the face. It is one of the most annoying traits of human beings.

          • October 27, 2015 at 10:41 pm
            Permalink

            So is being an ass.

          • October 27, 2015 at 11:19 pm
            Permalink

            …and when this belief is challenged they often respond with anger.

          • October 27, 2015 at 4:14 pm
            Permalink

            I used to have a 100% tube driven system with custom components. It was fun but I guess I got over it. It’s expensive and very temperamental gear. And every time I moved it was just a huge headache transporting all those LP’s and the equipment. I’m fine with computer speakers and digital storage now. The only physical storage I’ve kept is books. They’re worth the bother 😉 And boy did I need the money when I sold all that stuff off!

        • October 27, 2015 at 2:15 pm
          Permalink

          Do yourself a favor and move to Vinyl.

          • October 27, 2015 at 3:30 pm
            Permalink

            I’ve never left it. I’ve been amassing my vinyl collection for well over 40 years.

      • October 27, 2015 at 1:12 pm
        Permalink

        Yeah I’ve not bought a cd in a while but for this I make an exception. In fact the first cd I ever bought was The Pantom Menace soundtrack in ’99!

        • October 27, 2015 at 4:09 pm
          Permalink

          I stopped years ago. Digital is so much better. I used to have a huge LP and CD collection. Just a lot of clutter. I much prefer not having to store all that stuff. And having to calibrate a turntable every few weeks and replace the stylus etc…what a pain in the neck.

    • October 27, 2015 at 4:26 am
      Permalink

      What do you think would even be included on a special 2 CD release? i’m not saying that your questions is stupid, i’m just asking what kind stuff stuff you would hope to see on a special second disc.

      • October 27, 2015 at 5:02 am
        Permalink

        Um…the complete soundtrack? It never has only fit on one disc.

        It takes two CD’s to fit the entire thing. Amazon dot com is your friend.

      • October 27, 2015 at 6:51 am
        Permalink

        Yes a more complete soundtrack as most 1 CD scores contain only about half or 3/4 of the score.

      • October 27, 2015 at 9:37 pm
        Permalink

        You are obviously not a movie score fan. For a film, usually a lot more music is written than fits on one cd, so the producers have to select a few cues that they think represent the movie best. On a special 2-cd score, music that was left out of the original release is added to the second disc. This may or may not be all of the remaining cues. Some of my scores even have 3 or 4 discs, those are usually produced by labels such as LaLaLand Records, that specialize in gathering ALL cues from a specific movie and releasing them in a multi-cd set.

        It’s not easy being a film score enthusiast, since most of your favorite music can only be listened to in the actual movie (with sound effects and dialogue all over it). Especially with John Williams, who is in a league of his own when it comes to film scores, this can be quite frustrating.

        • October 27, 2015 at 11:41 pm
          Permalink

          You’re right, I’m not a movie score fan. It sounds…painful.

    • October 27, 2015 at 9:35 pm
      Permalink

      They still haven’t even released the complete score for the PT yet.

  • October 27, 2015 at 3:38 am
    Permalink

    Notice how JJ didn’t deny that there will hardly be any Luke Skywalker. A disappointment to some OT fans, but it seems to confirm everything we’ve heard so far in the rumor mill.

    • October 27, 2015 at 3:58 am
      Permalink

      It confirmed absolutely nothing!

    • October 27, 2015 at 5:03 am
      Permalink

      We still have two more movies as well, to flesh out his story.

      Either way, it’s no biggie.

    • October 27, 2015 at 5:15 am
      Permalink

      As much as I would’ve loved to see more Luke in TFA, at least we don’t hear all these rumors about Luke dying in this film.

    • October 27, 2015 at 9:38 am
      Permalink

      my guess is that this movie is hans farewell so hes getting the screen time. luke will be a lot more featured in the upcoming movies.

      • October 27, 2015 at 1:57 pm
        Permalink

        IMDB lists Harrison Ford as Han in the cast for Episode VIII. Adam Driver, however, is not listed suggesting Kylo Ren may be a one-movie stunt for him.

        • October 27, 2015 at 10:14 pm
          Permalink

          I wouldn’t take the imdb cast list to heart this early. They are often wrong.

    • October 27, 2015 at 1:11 pm
      Permalink

      Provided he has at least a scene or two and some dialogue and isn’t literally a “we’re off to visit Luke now, oh look there he is in the distance in a cloak waiting for us END CREDITS” then I’ll be happy. The leaked at ending of the film strongly suggests he’ll play a pretty big Yoda style role, perhaps even more than that in the next movie or two, which should make us all happy.

    • October 27, 2015 at 2:56 pm
      Permalink

      We see a 2 minute trailer of a 2+ hour movie that is not trying to show spoilers. We know nothing.

    • October 27, 2015 at 4:07 pm
      Permalink

      Anyone going to see ANH for Alec Guinness might have been disappointed but his character was memorable. Screen time isn’t everything.

  • October 27, 2015 at 5:24 am
    Permalink

    J. J. Abrams has noted that he’s seen enthusiasm toward the movie from people who aren’t even big fans of Star Wars.

    Ah, and I’m guessing these people are women and minorities.
    And to this I say, JJ, you’re full of shit.

    • October 27, 2015 at 6:09 am
      Permalink

      How’s your Hollywood career going?

    • October 27, 2015 at 6:12 am
      Permalink

      You mad bro??

      Chill out, drink some coffee or something. Why does sex and race even produce conversation anymore. Such a tiresome, bullshit excuse to wild people up and cause confrontation. You my sir.. Need to realize the reality of life, and stop throwing out these dumb-ass racial/sexist comments.

      /facepalm

    • October 27, 2015 at 7:38 am
      Permalink

      You should definitely not go see the movie. Protest with your dollar. They will notice. LOL.

    • October 27, 2015 at 8:33 am
      Permalink

      By the way, I just want to mention I’m a young Caucasian adult working as an EMT, and studying to be a Paramedic.

      I’ve seen the insides of these “minorities” you speak of and people like you, and guess what?

      …They look exactly the same.

      • October 27, 2015 at 10:46 pm
        Permalink

        Sounds very similar to one of my favorite Ben Carson quotes:

        , ‘You see, when I take someone to the operating
        room, I’m actually operating on the thing that makes them who they are. The
        skin doesn’t make them who they are.’

  • October 27, 2015 at 5:30 am
    Permalink

    As far as Luke’s absence goes…JJ isn’t withholding information that may spoil the plot…what he’s doing is trying to hide the fact that Luke has a minuscule role in the film.

    The last thing The Force Awakens needs is pissed off Luke fans added to the #BoycottStarWars movement.

    • October 27, 2015 at 6:47 am
      Permalink

      “…what he’s doing is trying to hide the fact that Luke has a minuscule role in the film.”

      Are you suggesting that The Force Awakens ISN’T about Luke or Han or Leia?

      Are trying to tell us that it’s about a whole new generation? Rey and Finn and Poe?

      Yeah, we know. Old news.

      • October 27, 2015 at 7:34 am
        Permalink

        Mark Hamill told us too, plenty of times that this is not his story, it’s about the younger generation. That said, Darth Vader apparently only had 12 minutes of screen time in A New Hope, but each minute was epic! Hopefully Luke’s time onscreen in The Force Awakens is just as epic.

    • October 27, 2015 at 6:55 am
      Permalink

      I think you should reword your last statement..

      It should read “The last thing The Force Awakens is thinking about is pissed off Luke fans..”
      #Lukeisastorypointforthenewgenerationandnotthecentralfocusofthenewtrilogy
      #LukehadhismomentgowatchtheOT

    • October 27, 2015 at 10:05 am
      Permalink

      Maybe Luke fans should start accepting it. What if Ep1-6 were shot in order? Obiwan fans would be pissed to see him have a small role in Ep 4-6. I just hope Luke has an important/significant role in either 7 or 8.

      • October 27, 2015 at 12:41 pm
        Permalink

        i wouldn’t consider Ben’s role in Star Wars to be small. he has huge importance to the story and a LOT of screen time. he’s already been in the film for ages before Han shows up. You could argue Leia doesn’t have much screen time until they rescue her. then in the final act Han disappears until the end and Leia is merely seen briefly monitoring the battle. Ben in Empire and Jedi, fair enough.

    • October 27, 2015 at 2:51 pm
      Permalink

      There’s no boycott movement.

    • October 27, 2015 at 8:45 pm
      Permalink

      Luke is my hero, definitely in my Top Five fictional characters of all time. I’ve been waiting since 1983 to see Luke Skywalker again.

      But (1) he’s not the star of this show, and (2) the lack of Luke is going to be part of the plot. The mystery over where he’s gone, what he’s doing is going to be a large part of the story.

      I’m fine with that. If anything, it makes him more important of a character. His entrance will mean even more than Han’s, due to the build up of anticipation.

      Anyone who boycotts this movie is insane. Everyone involved has shown intense love and dedication for TGFFA, probably no one more than JJ. He’s not some studio guy just there for a paycheck—he’s a fan and always has been. He wants to make the best damn Star Wars movie possible. So does everyone in the cast and crew, from all that I’ve seen.

  • October 27, 2015 at 6:36 am
    Permalink

    The trailer was mediocre, but I’ve resorted to relying on the previous two for restoration of confidence.

    As for for Luke, see Spock circa 2009, over.

    • October 27, 2015 at 7:31 am
      Permalink

      Really? I thought the trailer was pretty good.

      In terms of Spock though, that’s a completely different comparison. Firstly, Star Trek was a reboot – a complete recasting. Leonard Nimoy’s role was just a cameo. It’s not like they made a Star Trek film and just decided not have Spock in it much. The young Spock played by Zachary Quinto was a main character and had plenty of screen time.

      • October 27, 2015 at 7:37 am
        Permalink

        Well, since this is supposed to be a reboot complete with flashbacks and time travel, I guess all bases are covered.

    • October 27, 2015 at 7:37 am
      Permalink

      Really? Wow, I have watched it so many times. I love it. I love the feel of it. And the way the actors all seem invested. That is a huge improvement over the last two Episodes of the saga.

      • October 27, 2015 at 7:44 am
        Permalink

        I love the way Kylo Ren charges at Finn – way more convincing than when Anakin charges at Dooku in AOTC. Can’t wait to see that on the big screen in December!

        • October 27, 2015 at 10:42 pm
          Permalink

          Yeah, you don’t even see his face, but you can feel his emotion.

          • October 28, 2015 at 12:50 am
            Permalink

            You can feel his ANGER! His HATE! It makes him strong, gives him focus……on delivering an ass woopin!

        • October 28, 2015 at 4:26 pm
          Permalink

          That’s because George Lucas thought characters have to explicitly tell the audience what they’re doing and how they’re feeling instead of….well, having talented actors convey emotion the way they are trained to and to the extent they get paid millions of dollars to.

          “I’m taking him now!” Oh really, Anakin? I thought you were running a relay race with a lightsaber. Thanks for the clarification.

      • October 27, 2015 at 7:47 am
        Permalink

        You mention invested actors..You’re hitting the nail on the head with that statement. I completely 100% agree. These new actors are not only capable of carrying wide-ranges of emotions but they care SO much about these characters.

        That’s exactly what this franchise needs. Rey (Daisy Ridley) Expresses so many different emotions in this one trailer she is starting to become my favorite female actress.

    • October 27, 2015 at 9:36 am
      Permalink

      It was good imo, but could of gone for an even bigger wow factor. ie showing the starkiller completely and ending with the shot of luke. i did really like its tone, and not showing too much though. i thought that was powerful and telling in itself

    • October 27, 2015 at 4:42 pm
      Permalink

      I’m not gonna go calling it before I’ve seen the film, but the trailer looked pretty promising, it wasn’t the best trailer ever, but it established what accents the main characters speak in – that’s some pretty important shit to be telling us if you asked me.
      Overall, they stepped up to the challenge – not above-and-beyond, but on par, which is good enough for me.

      • October 27, 2015 at 5:09 pm
        Permalink

        We’ve gotten dialogue from two of the three main characters. The only thing we’ve heard from Poe is “Wohoo” and “Rahhhh”

        • October 28, 2015 at 9:53 am
          Permalink

          yeah, but Poe isn’t important, also, considering he’s a fighter-pilot, having an annoying voice would actually be a Plus.

          A Jedi with an annoying voice? NO HELL NO.
          Poe can have whatever voice he wants though.

          • October 29, 2015 at 5:43 pm
            Permalink

            Isn’t important?

  • October 27, 2015 at 10:17 am
    Permalink

    “When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not, ehh…”
    So calm down. He will be very important. As we know, Luke could appear in the next 4-8-15-16-23-42 next chapters…

    • October 27, 2015 at 11:45 am
      Permalink

      I see what you did there

      • October 27, 2015 at 3:31 pm
        Permalink

        I’m glad you’re following, because he lost me…

    • October 27, 2015 at 9:03 pm
      Permalink

      Nah. I think they’ve Locked into a minor role.

  • October 27, 2015 at 11:51 am
    Permalink

    I bet Luke shows up in the final moments.

    • October 27, 2015 at 1:11 pm
      Permalink

      If you remember during the filming, Mark Hamill was in the U.S and seen in Ireland and London later in the year. I wonder about the pay negotiations and the power he held to say “I want as much as Harrison”. Then they reply “but we only want you for a couple of scenes on this one”.

  • October 27, 2015 at 1:26 pm
    Permalink

    Luke is the “mystery box” It’s a typical JJ move

    • October 27, 2015 at 2:43 pm
      Permalink

      They are so mystery boxes in this film:

      – A Desert Planet from the outer Rim called Jakku……………..
      – A “I’m no-one” protagonist
      – A stormtrooper strong with the force
      – A lost lightsaber back on scene who knows how…
      – A big bad guy we don’t even know what shap will have.
      – An “awakening”

      And so on

    • October 27, 2015 at 4:34 pm
      Permalink

      Well, if there’s one mythology that could benefit from more JJ “Mystery Box” stuff, it’s Star Wars. I hated how Lucas tried to explain away all the mystery in the prequels.

      • October 27, 2015 at 9:57 pm
        Permalink

        Lol. In case you missed it, that trilogy’s whole purpose was to reveal mysteries, precisely. We all wished to know all about Anakin’s fall. We wanted to meet Luke’s and Leia’s mother. We were looking forward to seeing the Jedi in their heyday, Palpatine’s rise, the Clone Wars, etc.

        Hate on the PT all you want, but never say that Lucas made a mistake by doing exactly as he should and was expected to do with the prequels.

        • October 27, 2015 at 10:07 pm
          Permalink

          Dude, admit it, Lucas overexplained everything. You could easely tell Vaders backstory without putting everything under the scope. To explain mystery you have to ad mystery.

          • October 27, 2015 at 10:47 pm
            Permalink

            That’s irrelevant to my point. All I said was that it doesn’t make sense to say that Lucas revealed all those mysteries in the prequels, when that was supposed to be the sole purpose of the entire prequel trilogy: to answer the many questions created by the OT.

          • October 28, 2015 at 1:53 am
            Permalink

            Lucas made a mistake, and he even admits it at least for Episode 1 in that he thought they went a little over board in some parts. Really? Episode 1 has very little to do with the overall story of Vader’s downfall. Hence why some people cut it out when they watch the whole series together. Episode 2, although not the greatest film, at least showed bits where Anakin started to fall to the Dark Side. Episode 3 is definitely the most relevant and completes his transformation into the Sith Lord Darth Vader.

            There is a Behind the Scenes clip to prove this which I will link here:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxf1c3fzDOU

          • October 28, 2015 at 3:34 am
            Permalink

            This doesn’t have anything to do with my point. Please read my posts carefully. Thanks..

          • October 28, 2015 at 10:26 am
            Permalink

            I don’t care if it has to do with your point, because your point means nothing to me. I posted that material for everybody else that cares about where George Lucas might have gone wrong.

          • October 28, 2015 at 5:16 pm
            Permalink

            Then you’re barking up the wrong tree, because you did post your little vids as replies to me. And I certainly couldn’t care less about where Lucas might’ve gone wrong according to you.

          • October 30, 2015 at 12:03 pm
            Permalink

            Wow, that was very illustrative, thanks for posting that. It’s amazing how everyone surrounding Lucas is so sycophantic at all times. It’s clear many suspected this was gonna be a catastrophe but no-one dared open their mouth…

          • October 28, 2015 at 4:23 pm
            Permalink

            But it didn’t explain what in gods name were the actual problems with the Republic that caused a bunch of pricks to raise an army of robots (ugh).

            It took a 500 page James Luceno novel to explain that. At no moment do we even understand what in gods name the Trade Federation is and why they’re doing what they’re doing.

        • October 28, 2015 at 7:03 pm
          Permalink

          Midichlorians.

          Game, set and match.

          • October 28, 2015 at 9:05 pm
            Permalink

            Midichlorians are merely Lucas’ “scientific, rational way” to explain how an individual’s Force potential was measured by the Jedi. You and a gazillion other SW fans hate them, I know, but the little buggers are the least of the PT’s problems. I can think of tons of other things in the prequels far worse than Midichlorians, but that’s not the point.

            You said that you hated Lucas revealing too much in the PT. I replied that the PT’s purpose was to show us all how the GFFA went from point A to point B, just like the ST’s purpose will be to show us how the GFFA will go from point B to point C.

            Obviously, this means secrets and mysteries have to be revealed along the way. That’s not a matter of opinion and this is not a debate. That’s an irrefutable fact of story-telling and world-building in fantasy/sci-fi, period.

          • October 29, 2015 at 11:53 pm
            Permalink

            I never understood this… midichlorians don’t explain the force at all. They don’t explain how midichlorians help people lift objects or see the future or turn into force ghosts, or any of that shit lol. It’s still basically magic

          • October 30, 2015 at 12:08 am
            Permalink

            Trade federation, commerce guilds, seperatists. Contrast that with “Yipee” & “Youssa in big Doodoo”

        • October 30, 2015 at 6:12 pm
          Permalink

          And in my point of view Anakin´s fall couldn´t been any better reasoned: he has fallen because of a pussy, like a lot of men do in real life.

    • October 27, 2015 at 11:10 pm
      Permalink

      Luke and Snoke. We’ve least seen Luke’s hand. Only heard Snoke’s voice.

  • October 27, 2015 at 2:03 pm
    Permalink

    The reason Mark Hamill was in the UK for so long was that he was also working on Kingsman..

    • October 27, 2015 at 2:41 pm
      Permalink

      He had a beard in Kingsmen?

  • October 27, 2015 at 4:27 pm
    Permalink

    Luke’s robotic hand was made of a silvery metal and covered with flesh (or fake flesh). It didn’t look anything like the black robotic hand we see in the trailer. However, the arm we see does look a lot like Anakin’s robotic arm.

    • October 27, 2015 at 4:39 pm
      Permalink

      It got melted off by some space-hobos, DUH

    • October 27, 2015 at 9:49 pm
      Permalink

      Yeah, and that same prosthetic hand was damaged in RotJ. Maybe Luke had to get a replacement or he simply went for an upgrade and decided to leave it skinless. After all, it’s been 30-plus years since Vader cut off his hand; time enough for Luke to get a new hand in TFA.

      • October 27, 2015 at 10:27 pm
        Permalink

        I forgot about this. Very interesting. Did he make any comment along with it? As to whose hand it was or if it was significant.

        • October 28, 2015 at 3:36 am
          Permalink

          if you look at the backround, it is pretty clear that this is on the island in Ireland where they were filming scene’s with Luke. At least that’s what I see when I look at that photo anyway

          • October 28, 2015 at 12:49 pm
            Permalink

            It could be. The background is blurred out by the shallow depth of field in the shot. All we see is some dirty and maybe rock ground and some sparks from a fire. Could be anywhere.

            It might be Luke, but what good is picking apart these mysteries unless we expect JJ to give clues? Some people are suggesting that Luke could have changed his arm since RotJ, and they aren’t wrong… but he could have also had a sex change so maybe Mark is only playing Luke in flashbacks now… lol 🙂

        • October 28, 2015 at 5:42 am
          Permalink

          i think that that is chewbacca. If i remember correctly there was concept art of him with a robotic right arm and in the trailer, his right arm was bandaged a bit so that would be my guess

        • October 28, 2015 at 8:33 pm
          Permalink

          Don’t think JJ said anything about the hand.

    • October 28, 2015 at 1:25 am
      Permalink

      remember its been 30 years. anakin’s original metal hand didn’t look anything like the one luke chopped of in RoJ. luke could have got an upgrade.

    • October 28, 2015 at 3:34 am
      Permalink

      He got an upgrade after the battle of Endor because it got Damaged on Tatooine ( he was an Officer with great health insurance 🙂 ) I doubt he went around just wearing the glove and did not get his hand replaced.

      • October 28, 2015 at 4:20 pm
        Permalink

        If the New Republic is faltering, health insurance market collapse is the cause.

        SW has gone META!

    • October 29, 2015 at 10:19 pm
      Permalink

      His hand needed a repair as it got damaged on Jabba’s sail barge. Don’t think Luke wanted to wear a black glove for the rest of his life.

  • October 27, 2015 at 5:53 pm
    Permalink

    I’m glad he said he has one more session with John Williams. The sound track is always the final thing to be finished and can hold up the delivery of a movie. If you have access watch some of the behind the scenes stuff from the 2nd Hobbit movie and you will see what I mean.

  • October 27, 2015 at 6:12 pm
    Permalink

    I’m convinced that Luke’s face is part cyborg because of a battle injury. They can’t show his face on the official poster or in the trailers because then the surprise would be ruined.

    • October 27, 2015 at 7:37 pm
      Permalink

      Imagine Luke is rocking something like this..but less “evil” looking

      • October 27, 2015 at 10:57 pm
        Permalink

        You don’t think that would interfere with his contractual beard?

        • October 27, 2015 at 11:02 pm
          Permalink

          LOL that just means he needs a contractually bigger respirator to cover it up..DUH!

          • October 28, 2015 at 4:17 pm
            Permalink

            Or the new technology used the beard as the air filter!

    • October 27, 2015 at 10:05 pm
      Permalink

      The leaked image of Luke looking like Ben Kenobi would seem to contradict this dark version of the character that some are expecting.

  • October 27, 2015 at 7:49 pm
    Permalink

    That is based on a complete speculation, used from both the screen test pic and the robotic hand from the teaser.
    My thought is, he could die off in this film and the test pic is him in -Ghost form.

  • October 27, 2015 at 7:49 pm
    Permalink

    My thought is, he could die off in this film and the test pic is him in -Ghost form.

  • October 27, 2015 at 9:38 pm
    Permalink

    If he was never going to have any screen time in the film then why make him the second billed on the goddamn poster?

    • October 28, 2015 at 4:16 pm
      Permalink

      Marketing.

      Only in SW Fandom is marketing taken as gospel – as if everything they market is exactly what we should expect at all times. Its marketing, people, marketing.

      • October 29, 2015 at 12:14 am
        Permalink

        Except billing has to do with agent/manager/acting negotiations, union rules, and tradition. You can’t f*** with billing for marketing purposes. In fact you can tell a lot from the poster. For example, typically, based on credits alone it would have gone Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Daisey Ridley…instead it’s reversed, which means Ridley’s people made the point that she justifies higher billing based on the size of her role. There is no legit reason why Mark Hamill would be so high up unless his people argued successfully that the size of his role demanded it.

        • October 29, 2015 at 2:39 am
          Permalink

          Nailed it!

        • October 29, 2015 at 10:16 pm
          Permalink

          Maybe not the size of his role, it’s the importance of his role. Without the original 3 there would be no SW7. Luke might even be the most important character as being the last Jedi he has to train new Jedi.

      • October 29, 2015 at 2:38 am
        Permalink

        Right. Which why Terence Stamp is so high up on the TPM poster as is Jimmy Smits on the ROTS one…..oh wait, They weren’t.

  • October 27, 2015 at 10:57 pm
    Permalink

    Meh….these were softball questions JJ fielded.
    Somebody needs to ask some tough questions, like why he chose to a White woman to be paired with a black man.
    And isn’t it just a little bit of a coincidence that he did this exact same thing with Spock and Lt. Uhuru in Star Trek?
    In real life JJ’s married to a White woman…so is this is case of “Good for you, but not for me?”

    Maybe one in a hundred White women will date outside of their own race….yet JJ’s now made two back to back films with the 1% front and center.
    So just from a statistical point of view, something is seriously out of whack here.

    These are the questions reporters should be asking JJ, but aren’t. Not yet, anyway.

    • October 27, 2015 at 11:21 pm
      Permalink

      Joss Whedon was asked
      “So, why do you write these strong female characters?”
      His answer:
      “Because you’re still asking me that question.”

      • October 27, 2015 at 11:33 pm
        Permalink

        Perfect comment.

      • October 28, 2015 at 1:20 am
        Permalink

        Yeah hahaa Joss Whedon is a good example of somebody who is a progressive even feminist director who gets eaten up by the women feminists themselves by saying his women characcters aren’t strong enough or they are too stereotypical.

        He even commented by saying “Believe me, I have been attacked by militant feminists since I got on Twitter. That’s something I’m used to. Every breed of feminism is attacking every other breed, and every sub-section of liberalism is always busy attacking another sub-section of liberalism, because god forbid they should all band together and actually fight for the cause.”

      • October 28, 2015 at 1:23 am
        Permalink

        except in age of ultron when he turned black widow into a man crazy, damsel in distress.

    • October 27, 2015 at 11:33 pm
      Permalink

      My racism detector is going crazy.

      • October 29, 2015 at 9:41 pm
        Permalink

        And yet another racist struck down! The force is strong with the moderators indeed.

    • October 28, 2015 at 12:54 am
      Permalink

      Why does this matter to you?

    • October 28, 2015 at 1:39 am
      Permalink

      “See through you, we can”

    • October 27, 2015 at 11:28 pm
      Permalink

      Do people really want to know this stuff before seeing the movie?! No views from me.

    • October 27, 2015 at 11:29 pm
      Permalink

      As odd as it sounds because it was well thought out, it completely leaves out Luke with R2D2 as we see in the teaser that looks to have happened during a significant point in the movie.

    • October 28, 2015 at 3:11 am
      Permalink

      this rumor is so old and has been debunked for over a year now..none of it even makes sense with any of the facts we know…by now if you think they aren’t going to show Luke until the very last scene you are a fool. If you really think Mark Hamill spent all of those months in London and in Ireland just to film a 20 second scene…I would ask you if I can have a hit of whatever you are smoking…because that is some good shit. Hell in the beginning of all of this and in the first interviews Hamill talks about working with Oscar,John and Daisey and went on and on about how awesome they were to work with…why would he be working with those actors if he only has a 20 second scene at the end of the movie with Daisey? John Boyega was never in Ireland to shoot…The fan backlash from showing Luke only in the last scene would be a tsunami smacking across Disneys walls. Luke being in the whole third act after he saves Ridley after Boyega has been struck down by Kylo ion the fight scene we see in the trailer sounds more realistic and makes more sense..Luke knows what is going on, he is seeing it during his meditation,If you know anything about Luke Skywalker…you would know that he isn’t going to just sit back in the shadows and do nothing while Kylo assassinates everyone, it will be no different than when he saw the vision of Han being tortured on cloud city in TESB and took off from Dagobah..He will dart off to save them. I highly doubt that JJ and Kasden changed Luke’s character so much that he will seem like a different person to us.

  • October 28, 2015 at 1:26 am
    Permalink

    “its no accident.”

    meaning: don’t be disappointed when he’s in the movie for only five minutes. it seems a decent bet ep VII is Han’s movie, while VIII and IX are luke’s.

  • October 28, 2015 at 1:28 am
    Permalink

    I find it funny that people who actively look for Star Wars news and spoilers will whine about a trailer revealing to much and celebrate that the trailer didn’t reveal anything and that no other trailers will drop. Seriously? You guys already know the movie.

    • October 28, 2015 at 2:52 am
      Permalink

      It’s very different from speculating and try to find out what the movie is about, to have that lay out for you officially in a 2 min trailer.

      • October 28, 2015 at 6:44 pm
        Permalink

        I still feel most who are going to Star wars News Net and other sites are willfully reading spoilers knowing that at this point they are probably true. To say that most of us here would be spoiled by a 2 minute trailer is ridiculous. We already know it. I agree at times trailers reveal too much, but we shouldn’t pretend we would be spoiled all that much. And we shouldn’t pretend that the only option for another trailer includes spoiling the entire movie.

  • October 28, 2015 at 2:32 am
    Permalink

    Where’s Capitan Kirk?

    • October 28, 2015 at 5:10 am
      Permalink

      Disney didn’t spend $4 billion in Star Wars then another $200 million making a new movie, hundreds of millions more in marketing to NOT have Luke Skywalker in it. All of it.

      It is surprising Disney has allowed JJ to keep Luke under wraps this much so far (you just know they were planning on having Luke Skywalker holding a lightsaber plastered on EVERYTHING for six months before the movie comes out) but I am fairly certain it is a result of JJ’s requirements when he agreed to make the movie and D agreed because it makes for good buzz. But make no mistake, Luke will be in it a lot, Han will not die (again: $4 billion to kill off arguably the most popular character in the first of three movies?) either.

      • October 28, 2015 at 5:24 am
        Permalink

        I asked about Kirk, not Skywalker.

        • October 28, 2015 at 6:43 pm
          Permalink

          And you got the mature answer to your pointless trolling 🙂

          • October 28, 2015 at 8:07 pm
            Permalink

            No, he got a lame and dorky answer to his silly question. Not all “trolling” is malicious, dude.

          • October 28, 2015 at 8:11 pm
            Permalink

            Not necessarily malicious, but definitely useless. And while the merit of the answer is a matter of opinion, what I meant with “mature” is that it ignored the “silly question”

          • October 28, 2015 at 8:17 pm
            Permalink

            But why? That’s not “mature”. If anything, that’s a variation of saying “No, you’re dumb. THIS is the REAL answer.”

            Sometimes, maturity is about embracing the silly.

          • October 28, 2015 at 8:19 pm
            Permalink

            Yeah, I see where you’re coming from, and I’d say you’re right, from a certain point view.

      • October 28, 2015 at 5:48 pm
        Permalink

        I really hope you’re right…problem is, we don’t know…I REALLY, REALLY HOPE YOU’RE RIGHT…

      • October 29, 2015 at 11:49 pm
        Permalink

        I do feel Han will die, Probably one of the main reasons he agreed to do the film. Here are some signs that he will die:

        – He’s front and center in the poster
        -The’re making a spinoff film of him as a younger guy.
        – He will have lots of screen time in this film.
        – He wanted to be killed off even back then during the original trilogy.
        – His already successful career with still many big film scripts coming his way.
        – the body lying on the ground when Rey is crying. Looks like his jacket 🙁

        Luke will probably serve as an Obi wanYoda. he will appear on TFA but he will have a bigger role in Ep8.

      • October 30, 2015 at 12:48 am
        Permalink

        I think Disney would not mind killing han at all, here’s why:
        1.) They have other legacy characters like Luke and Chewie to draw fans
        2.) It would generate a TON of buzz with people raging about it either loving or hating that moment which will become iconic
        3.) Harrison Ford wants his character to be killed off and would be hard to convince to keep coming back indefinitely. Han’s death may have be a requirement to him returning
        4.) It will make adults cry nostalgically (Disney loves that) and will make Han even MORE popular as people will miss him- just in time for him being recast in the new spin-off film after the original actor went out in a blaze of glory.
        5.) It will help cement in audiences brains that this is NEW Star Wars focused on the NEW cast. They can’t milk the coat-tails of aging actors forever- so they will rake in as much cash as they can with the nostalgia, while slowly tagging out classic characters one-by-one until we have a whole new cast that they can lock into contracts for dozens of more movies as opposed to vets like Harrison who is likely to only sign for a picture or two.

      • October 30, 2015 at 5:56 pm
        Permalink

        I agree with you. Star Wars as we know is dead. TFA is some kind of “New Star Wars”…

    • October 28, 2015 at 3:07 pm
      Permalink

      In his TARDIS of course.

  • October 28, 2015 at 3:52 am
    Permalink

    Yes, minimal new footage released in final trailer, thanks to heavy use of previously released shots or shots extremely close to what was already released, and no new footage until premiere. I bet you everything I own that plenty of new merchandise will be released in just the next 5 weeks. JJ, KK, and co are pulling every dime they can without giving much to the fans except ways to give up their hard earned money. Impressive. Most impressive

  • October 28, 2015 at 4:39 am
    Permalink

    Unless it DID show it’s whole plot and there IS NO plot! Mwahahahahaha

  • October 28, 2015 at 4:56 am
    Permalink

    Yo this girl is literally like the dumbest reporter ever. You can tell JJ is just counting down the seconds until she leaves him alone.

  • October 28, 2015 at 6:27 am
    Permalink

    J.J., do you have any more gum, more gum, more gum, more gum? Do you have any more gum?

  • October 28, 2015 at 6:35 am
    Permalink

    I wonder if there will be allot of easter eggs in the movie.

    • October 30, 2015 at 2:04 am
      Permalink

      Sure to be. Be fun trying to find them when the Bluray is out

  • October 28, 2015 at 1:58 pm
    Permalink

    I like his attitude about the PC/racism issue “the issue speaks for itself – I’m more interested in the people who drowned it out”,
    nice guy

  • October 28, 2015 at 4:55 pm
    Permalink

    Luke will get the biggest reveal and applause when does show up. If his role is small at least in EP VIII then it will have a big impact I’m sure.

    I mean the movie is about where is Luke but not, about Luke.

    If it was it would be called something like;The Legend of Luke Skywalker

  • October 28, 2015 at 5:48 pm
    Permalink

    All this talk about Lukes hand looking robotic in the segment where he puts his hand on R2, with the embers in the background, I was thinking somewhere in this scene he gets the artificial flesh burned off, perhaps saving something or someone from the fire. His hand looks like Vaders did when he was pulling himself up the embankment at the end of ROTS.

    • October 30, 2015 at 2:03 am
      Permalink

      Maybe he drives the flame troopers back from the village attack and gets the skin burned off it. That would mean the scene from teaser 2 is the aftermath , placing Luke earlier in the movie than rumoured. Maybe we don’t see his face though.

  • October 29, 2015 at 9:44 pm
    Permalink

    That Vanity Fair video is great. The GL question made my day. 🙂

  • October 29, 2015 at 9:58 pm
    Permalink

    I am with George Lucas on his question: “Yeah – What did happen with Darth Vader’s Grandchildren”? I hope to find out in SW TFA.

  • October 29, 2015 at 10:07 pm
    Permalink

    George Lucas was great. J.J.s expression said it all. Wonder where Lucas will be watching TFA on opening night.

    • October 30, 2015 at 12:39 am
      Permalink

      Well he claims he didn’t even watch the original teasers until months after their release so maybe he will just wait and catch it on Canadian Netflix or something. 😛

      • October 30, 2015 at 1:10 am
        Permalink

        Nah, reckon his curiosity will get the better of him. He’ll succumb to the hype like the rest of us and will be found in line at a Nicasio cinema.

  • October 29, 2015 at 10:10 pm
    Permalink

    Children,plural .
    I miss George.

  • October 29, 2015 at 10:28 pm
    Permalink

    JJ, why isn’t C3PO in the teasers or trailer? hmmm? that’s even more mysterious than the tiny bit of Luke we do see. That’s all I have to ask.

    Cheers!

    • October 29, 2015 at 10:44 pm
      Permalink

      He appears for a brief moment around the 2:45 mark of the Comic-Con reel. It appears he will be assisting Leia while R2 is in Luke’s service. He has a red arm now.

      • October 30, 2015 at 5:54 pm
        Permalink

        Because of that red arm I conjectured that he may be actually an asset of the First Order. Look how those TIEs have a red strip on its side just like Treepio.

  • October 29, 2015 at 10:44 pm
    Permalink

    One child is the apprentice of an older student of the Emperor who went by the name of Darth Ruin.

  • October 30, 2015 at 12:03 am
    Permalink

    JJ, is it true that Jar Jar Binks is the new Emperor in The Force Awakens?

    • October 30, 2015 at 4:34 pm
      Permalink

      I know that one. No. He is not the new Emperor. He is Supreme Leader Snoke. He has been through some stuff, right? He probably looks like a piece of wet beef jerky by now.

  • October 30, 2015 at 12:03 am
    Permalink

    JJ, is it more than coincidence that you share two initials with Jar Jar?

  • October 30, 2015 at 12:06 am
    Permalink

    JJ, isn’t this movie really about the offspring of Yoda and Ahsoka Tano?

  • October 30, 2015 at 1:25 am
    Permalink

    Note to Bill Gurley – Mark Hamill isn’t in Car Wash. He is in Corvette Summer.

  • October 30, 2015 at 2:37 am
    Permalink

    Even if we could see the jacket clearly it wouldn’t prove anything. The person who was wearing the jacket could have been killed or he could have covered someone else’s wounded/dead body with his jacket.

  • October 30, 2015 at 2:54 am
    Permalink

    Wow, that was awkward.

  • October 30, 2015 at 3:20 am
    Permalink

    Lol

  • October 30, 2015 at 4:16 am
    Permalink

    JJ, I love you. xD

  • October 30, 2015 at 4:38 am
    Permalink

    I’ve got a whole new respect for JJ.. but I’m also drunk, so… The fucking Force Awakens!!! Can it be December 17th already????

  • October 30, 2015 at 9:09 am
    Permalink

    Luke appears on the scene after the Knights of Ren have slaughtered the people you see around them (in the rain).

Comments are closed.

LATEST POSTS ON MOVIE NEWS NET