JJ Abrams Explains Leia and Rey Hug in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Han Leia HugAll major discussions of quality aside, fandom has been stuffed to the brim with nitpicks about the force awakens since its release.  Some have been explained by the filmmakers to various degrees of acceptance (like R2-D2’s miraculous awakening) and some have been neglected.  Well, JJ Abrams recently gave a mea culpa on one of these nitpicks in an interview with Slashfilm.

 

In this case, the nitpick in question is just why Leia hugs Rey after the death of her husband instead of their longtime mutual friend Chewbacca who walks by in the background seemingly ignored by the devastated princess.  JJ Abrams addressed this in the interview.

That was probably one of the mistakes I made in that. My thinking at the time was that Chewbacca, despite the pain he was feeling, was focused on trying to save Finn and getting him taken care of. So I tried to have Chewbacca go off with him and focus on Rey, and then have Rey find Leia and Leia find Rey. The idea being that both of them being strong with the Force and never having met, would know about each other — that Leia would have been told about her beyond what we saw onscreen and Rey of course would have learned about Leia. And that reunion would be a meeting and a reunion all in one, and a sort of commiseration of their mutual loss.

Abrams goes on to admit that it was likely in his blocking that the issue became so apparent, noting that Chewbacca walking by in the background of the scene calls attention to the fact that he is not involved in the solemn moment.  Had he run off to take Finn to get medical assistance without being seen in the background, complaints would likely be far fewer.  But in the end, it doesn’t really change the outcome.  Chewbacca did have other things on his mind, and I wouldn’t see it as out of character for the noble Wookie to put a priority on helping those heroes who could still be saved and waiting to mourn until his work was done.  Although, may it not be forgotten that this was not the first time a Star Wars film ended with Leia snubbing Chewbacca.  Perhaps Leia just has something against walking carpets.

 

Medal Ceremony

Source: Slashfilm

 

 

+ posts

68 thoughts on “JJ Abrams Explains Leia and Rey Hug in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

  • March 9, 2016 at 4:12 pm
    Permalink

    I think they still should have given Chewie a proper scene afterward of him grieving, if anything, he would be more devastated than Leia, or neck-and-neck. Chewie’s grief should’ve got a shout-out in the film, but alas, pacing.

    Hopefully this thread will be addressed in VIII, what is Chewie going to do with himself now?

    • March 9, 2016 at 4:20 pm
      Permalink

      Well as far as Peter Mayhew is concerned, he IS Chewbacca. He may not be able to keep up like he used to, but did a fantastic job in directing Joonas Suotamo. I’m sure the demand is there enough to keep Chewbacca in many Star Wars movies to come.

    • March 9, 2016 at 4:52 pm
      Permalink

      Chewie ? Well, at the moment he’s on Aaaah-CHOO (!), with Artoo, Rey, and Luke…. so one assumes there may be a mini adventure for those four from there ??

      • March 9, 2016 at 10:50 pm
        Permalink

        Is that really how think it’s pronounced? I always read it as “Awk toe”

        • March 9, 2016 at 11:32 pm
          Permalink

          Sorry, I sneezed there 😉

          • March 10, 2016 at 12:52 am
            Permalink

            lolololol

    • March 9, 2016 at 4:59 pm
      Permalink

      @disqus_CAqDv9ujlV:disqus “What is Chewie going to do with himself?” Isn’t he like 250 years old of a 500 year old life span? The star wars movies are just a snapshot of Chewie’s life. I’m sure he’s devastated in losing Han (similar to a human being devastated in losing their dog) but there was plenty of life-before-han and there’ll be plenty of life-after-han. It’s onto the next for Chewie (Which appears to be Rey?)

      • March 10, 2016 at 5:29 am
        Permalink

        Yeah, but still, his grief will be pretty heavy for the next film’s worth of time at least, and that deserves addressing. Just as it would have been cheap to have ZERO scenes where Leia deals with Han’s death, it was cheap that they didn’t show Chewie’s anguish (except for at the time of Han’s death where Chewie went apeshit, that was great, but Chewie should have gotten one more scene showing the long-term repercussions after the initial shock wore off).

      • March 10, 2016 at 8:38 am
        Permalink

        The fact that he travels with Rey is a really good sign. I would love Chewie to be Rey’s sidekick.

  • March 9, 2016 at 4:14 pm
    Permalink

    I was always upset as a wee fella that Chewie appeared to have been snubbed for a medal.
    Years later I saw it as merely a difference in rank/ position that meant he didn’t qualify rather than a form of hirsute racism

    • March 9, 2016 at 4:33 pm
      Permalink

      Besides…Chewie already had his hug scene w/ the Princess after Maz’s castle, etc.

      BUT: He could totally still be pissed about that medal. I sure would be… *cackle*

    • March 9, 2016 at 11:47 pm
      Permalink

      In the Chewbacca Marvel Comics, we learn that Chewie received a medal in ANH, but did not partake in the ceremony because it went against his cultural beliefs. As a matter of fact, he gave the medal to one of the protagonists in the comic.

      • March 10, 2016 at 3:26 am
        Permalink

        That’s such a nice retcon.

  • March 9, 2016 at 4:18 pm
    Permalink

    I never had a problem with this…

  • March 9, 2016 at 4:27 pm
    Permalink

    So JJ tried to insinuate Rey is a member of Skywalker family by this scene.

  • March 9, 2016 at 4:55 pm
    Permalink

    so many missed opportunities. This was certainly an obvious one. No ceremony or anything to honor Han…blahhh! Just one of many of the blunders of 7.

    • March 9, 2016 at 4:59 pm
      Permalink

      I thought that initially, but then I was thinking, in Leia’s shoes, would you want to hold a big ceremony, marking the fact that your own child just murdered his father?

      • March 9, 2016 at 5:01 pm
        Permalink

        agreed – and the ending was more of a “to be continued” than a celebration. The focal point was finding Luke – not a climax about the death of a character

        • March 9, 2016 at 5:03 pm
          Permalink

          Chewie got his scene when Han was killed. Emotional roar and his blowing up the bombs. He then had a great scene of lonely mourning as he landed the falcon to pick up rey. He got a great emotional scene and it was a fitting tribute to the loss of Han. After all – Han was a smuggler with no real attachment save for Chewie. He didn’t need an huge resistance send-off

          • March 9, 2016 at 5:48 pm
            Permalink

            Boba shows up at the funeral…..lol

          • March 9, 2016 at 7:23 pm
            Permalink

            “He do good snoo snoo.”

          • March 9, 2016 at 11:14 pm
            Permalink

            LOL

          • March 10, 2016 at 8:36 am
            Permalink

            Haha that wou!d be great

      • March 9, 2016 at 5:05 pm
        Permalink

        True, one of the most common mistakes people make is to look from their perspective, not the characters. What happened there wasn’t by any means normal, therefore you can’t expect normal reactions either. Messed up family, messed up situations, messed up everything.

        • March 10, 2016 at 8:35 am
          Permalink

          ^^ This is so right…

      • March 9, 2016 at 5:47 pm
        Permalink

        you may be right…but, the whole death just didn’t seem to carry the weight that I thought it should have with anyone in the movie. Sure, Chewie had a great response initially. And I can’t say that I know exactly what they should have done. It just seems that it was missing something.

        Maybe since 8 is picking up immediately after events in 7, they will have the chance to make some of this right. But I am hoping that 8 will correct many of the wrong done in 7. High hopes again….

    • March 9, 2016 at 10:48 pm
      Permalink

      Maybe it was held after Rey left to go to Ahch-to. Just because we don’t see it in the movie, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen. Have patience.

  • March 9, 2016 at 7:00 pm
    Permalink

    This was one of the scenes that annoyed me. What’s done is done, but I’m glad JJ can confess that he messed up on this, goes a long way towards renewing my faith in him.

    • March 9, 2016 at 10:47 pm
      Permalink

      It’s fine as long as we get a special Edition in 20 years that contains a CGI Chewbacca hugging a CGI Leia.

      • March 10, 2016 at 8:34 am
        Permalink

        I fully understand such a mistake can happen, specially to someone as deboted as Abrams on doing this film. The pression, the passion, the time… All must be very high in a project like this. What I can’t understand is why such a flow was not alarming in postproduction. They had time enough to do something with that. Just an idea: if he wants to keep Rey/Leia’s moment intact, he could have adressed Chewie and Leia in the later scene. We see both of them mourning alone, while they could be together, having their moment.

  • March 9, 2016 at 9:10 pm
    Permalink

    I’m less peeved by this than the fact that Luke Skywalker is considered to be a myth in a mere 30 years. Are there any world figures today from the 80’s whose existance we question? Considering how advanced the SW galaxy is compared to ours it’s laughable in the extreme not to mention him being enemy numero uno of The First Order. Yet somehow Rey finds someone like Han Solo more recogonizable for reasons yet to be coherently explained anywhere.

    • March 9, 2016 at 9:32 pm
      Permalink

      Star Wars takes place in a whole galaxy while we live in a world. Also, Rey lived on a small dessert plant with one outpost, it’s a miracle that she knows who Luke, Han, and Leia are at all.

      • March 9, 2016 at 10:30 pm
        Permalink

        “one outpost”
        That we saw. There were clearly other settlements (such as Lor San Tekka’s) and who knows if there were or weren’t established starports. I mean, logically speaking, why would Rey go to an official starport or bigger settlement to hawk stolen graverobbed technology?

        • March 9, 2016 at 10:46 pm
          Permalink

          Because if she goes too far, she might get missed by her family when they come back for her (Rey logic).

      • March 10, 2016 at 12:57 pm
        Permalink

        SW isn’t ST though, Their galaxy is largely domesticated and technology is everywhere. The Galactic Civil War isn’t exactly a footnote either, Maybe if she were a child but not an adult.

    • March 9, 2016 at 11:16 pm
      Permalink

      “Are there any world figures today from the 80’s whose existence we question?” Ricardo Montalban! He has always been a mysterious, shadowy figure!

      • March 10, 2016 at 12:55 pm
        Permalink

        Touche! Kim Jong Il and Un too who as we know were both birthed from the sun itself.

    • March 10, 2016 at 12:21 am
      Permalink

      First, there is a more absurd precedent in that Luke somehow had never even heard of the Jedi who were extant in large numbers less than twenty years earlier. (Yes, Owen and Beru may have wanted to keep that from him, but what about Biggs and his other friends? They never talked about the Jedi?) To Rey, Luke Skywalker was a guy she heard stories of using magic to defeat the most powerful armed force in the galaxy. She knew about Han Solo because she heard stories (with no magic involved) about him being a great smuggler from the type of people she had dealings with on Jakku. As for Finn, he knew who both were, so I don’t know what you’re on about there.

      • March 10, 2016 at 3:09 am
        Permalink

        Luke knew what the Clone Wars were, so he must have known of the concept of “Jedi”. Obi-Wan says “I was once a Jedi Knight, the same as your father”. Luke doesn’t say “A Jedi? What’s that”.

      • March 10, 2016 at 12:53 pm
        Permalink

        Tatooine was pretty much a spacer hub though as was Anchorhead despite what Luke says about the planet. Rey recogonized Han before he did though which is even more inexplicable considering she had less of a formal education about galactic history.

        • March 10, 2016 at 3:07 pm
          Permalink

          No, it wasn’t a hub. It was an outer rim backwater controlled by the Hutts and a safe haven for less desirables. Can’t change Star Wars lore to shore up your weak argument.

          • March 10, 2016 at 3:24 pm
            Permalink

            Roasted.

          • March 10, 2016 at 10:17 pm
            Permalink

            He doesn’t bother to respond to me anymore, or much of anyone. He just shows up to post one or two negative comments in every article.

            He used to be so much more fun. He hasn’t been this wrong in a while though.

          • March 11, 2016 at 12:53 am
            Permalink

            I agree.

    • March 10, 2016 at 3:01 pm
      Permalink

      He was a story and legend to most of the galaxy during the Rebellion. The Empire certainly didn’t promote his existence as a possible Jedi and the perpetrator of the most devastating defeat it suffered since its inception. This left the Rebellion alone to use him as a tool for propaganda and their resources were limited.

      The Galaxy hadn’t forgotten him. Most of them never knew he was real. Hidalgo has already pointed out that at the height of the Republic during the clone wars there were 10,000 Jedi Knights. And the reason they fell into legend during the Dark Times is due to the size of the Galaxy and the fact so few had seen them before they were murdered out of existence.

      Mass media was controlled completely by the Empire during the Rebellion. Public communication was strictly limited from system to system and monitored closely. The Galaxy only heard what Palpatine wanted it to.

      What more, Rey doesn’t find Han more recognizable, she knows just as much about him (and some of it wrong) as she does Luke. Finn knows who both are as evidenced by his reaction in the TIE Fighter to Poe saying Luke’s name and asking later if Han was the Rebel General Han Solo.

      We know you don’t like the film but now you’re leaving the realm of opinion and trying to rewrite Star Wars lore and dialogue from the film.

      Problematic when surrounded by fans who apparently know more than you on the topic.

      • March 10, 2016 at 3:24 pm
        Permalink

        Thank you.

    • March 10, 2016 at 4:10 pm
      Permalink

      exactly…one of several issues with this movie. Although this one is minor compared to the rest. Think about Ben Ren…whom must have been a teenager leading the KOR when they attacked and destroyed Lukes temple. So, apparently Luke is not as powerful in this universe as he should be…or we just go along with the Disney fantasy machine. Hoping for more meat in 8 to correct the garbage run of 7.

      • March 11, 2016 at 11:43 am
        Permalink

        Not just Luke but EVERY Jedi in the galaxy. Maybe he could surprise one or two of them but not all at once especially since it was made clear his training had not been finished and his powers were inferior to a noob like Rey. Every Abrams film is full of plotholes from start to finish so it’s hardly surprising. He should have directed music videos instead where the plot doesn’t have to make sense and it’s purely about what’s “cool”.

        • March 11, 2016 at 3:55 pm
          Permalink

          Exactly! I could understand if maybe he was fully trained and the KOR were too…but if he’s their leader and that weak, it sure doesn’t say much about the KOR.

          • March 12, 2016 at 9:53 am
            Permalink

            Plus unlike Anakin he’s not some force messiah and didn’t have legions of troopers at his disposal either while the First Order in TFA is about 1/100 of The Empire at it’s height. Even then Anakin largely took out children in III while Kylo had to take on grown ass Jedi and the only one to ever face Vader twice (and The Emperor) and live.

          • March 12, 2016 at 7:59 pm
            Permalink

            Couldn’t agree more! I sure miss the EU Luke. …he’d wiped the floor with the KOR. But then again, I think just about anyone in the EU could take Ren.

          • March 13, 2016 at 4:36 pm
            Permalink

            Ha! I mean considering he had nothing but free time to study between trilogies (especially after the fall of this new order) he should have been at Yoda’s level by TFA yet I bet Rey will save him multiple times in VIII. There were so many interesting character ideas they could have used other than making him a coward. I’d have even preferred him going to the dark side than that.

          • March 13, 2016 at 5:03 pm
            Permalink

            Yep….just one huge missed opportunity 7 was.

          • March 13, 2016 at 5:25 pm
            Permalink

            It lowered the bar for sure but Johnson seems to be doing his best to fix some of the mistakes in it with VIII like giving Han an actual funeral, Luke playing a bigger part, and seeing actual new planets/costumes that don’t look like anything we seen before.

          • March 13, 2016 at 7:00 pm
            Permalink

            Yeah….I’m holding onto hope, after all it is SW! Hopefully he’ll turn it around. Snoke better turn out to be some ancient sith holocram guardian since he’s confirmed not Plagious. And they better have an explanation for Ren and his stooges being able to take down Luke and his temple. Hopes that Mara Jade shows, but I’m betting Rey isn’t Luke’s kid.

          • March 14, 2016 at 11:30 am
            Permalink

            I’d be totally happy with Ren killing Snoke to restore some much needed credibility to his character. Dern could be her. Maybe not if the rumors about his orienation are to be believed though it does contradict both the old and new EU if true.

  • March 9, 2016 at 9:52 pm
    Permalink

    I never had a problem with this….i just assumed that through the connection in the force that was felt by Leia at the time of Han’s death she also felt Rey’s grief. When they saw each other they hugged to comfort one another.

  • March 9, 2016 at 10:44 pm
    Permalink

    Off-topic, but it seems like everyone is convinced all of the moments in the “Forceback” are from the past. But what if some of them depict the future? What if the scene with Kylo and the Knights of Ren in the rain is something yet to happen? Or Luke’s mourning?

    • March 9, 2016 at 10:45 pm
      Permalink

      Nice idea! I don’t think it’s ever been confirmed that all of them are ACTUALLY in the past.

    • March 9, 2016 at 11:13 pm
      Permalink

      Clearly some of them are future, as she has a glimpse of the snowy forest duel with Kylo that has yet to happen at the time of her vision. I have wondered the same things about the KoR shot. What if we see that in Episode 8?

  • March 9, 2016 at 10:45 pm
    Permalink

    Leia is definitely Wookist.

  • March 9, 2016 at 11:23 pm
    Permalink

    Hopefully in a few years we will get a Special Edition of TFA in which JJ will go back and digitally remove Chewie walking past Leia, or hide him behind a boulder or something.

    • March 10, 2016 at 3:05 am
      Permalink

      You beat me to it! 🙂

    • March 10, 2016 at 3:28 am
      Permalink

      GeekOut, you won the internet today

  • March 10, 2016 at 7:25 am
    Permalink

    Yeah well, that. Plus 75% of the rest of the movie that had no clear story in mind before this film ever started. So many plot holes and nothing original to add to the actual story other than Han and Leia had a kid. Pretty weak overall.

  • March 10, 2016 at 11:15 am
    Permalink

    As good jj is an amateur mistake from a fan?

  • March 11, 2016 at 2:12 am
    Permalink

    I love how he didn’t even address the fact that it was just plain weird that Leia just walked up and hugged Rey on first meeting her. That’s why the scene is weird.

  • March 11, 2016 at 4:08 am
    Permalink

    This scene stuck out to me like a sore thumb the very first time I watched TFA. Given the characters’ background, Rey should’ve been the one to rush Finn to the med wing while Leia & Chewie embraced. Good to see Abrams admit to this blunder.

Comments are closed.

LATEST POSTS ON MOVIE NEWS NET