17 Things We Just Learned AboutStar Wars: The Force Awakens(Updated)

Star Wars fans knew they were going to get intelligence this hebdomad , they probably just mean they ’d have to wait longer . There will be Star Wars at the D23 Expo Saturday but first , the Modern issue of Entertainment Weekly is chock full of new information on Star Wars : The Force Awakens .

So what ’s new ? Here we go . There are spoilers below so beware . ( Also , we started with 13 but update with four more . )

1) Kylo Ren is obsessed with Darth Vader

This is a rumour we ’d heard for a while but now it has been confirmed . The picture show ’s independent baddie , play by Adam Driver , is just like us and is obsessed with the man who was once Anakin Skywalker . “ [ Ren ] is well cognizant of what ’s amount before , and that ’s very much a part of the floor of the film , ” Abrams say .

2) Kylo Ren isn’t his real name

Much like Darth Vader was n’t his literal name , Kylo Ren is n’t the name of the military personnel under that masquerade party . “ He is a case who came to the name Kylo Ren when he joined a chemical group called the Knights of Ren , ” Abrams said . What are the “ Knights of Ren ? ” He would n’t say . But writer Lawrence Kasdan said he ’s a character reference wholly unique to the dealership . “ I ’ve write four Star Wars movies now , and there ’s never been a character quite like the one that Adam plays . I think you ’re going to see something that ’s brand new to the saga , ” Kasdan tell . “ He ’s full of emotion . No matter how we express ourselves in the humans , whether we hide it and act very calm or whether we ’re very out there and demonstrative , everybody ’s roiling with emotion . And you desire your character to be that way , too . Then they have to deal with their emotion as best they can , with what they are . ”

3) We’ll learn the origins of Ren’s mask

“ The movie explain the origins of the masquerade and where it ’s from , but the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask , ” Abrams say . He ’s ghost , remember ?

4) Ren built the cross hilt lightsaber himself

This , again , was a rumour we ’d heard before that has now been confirm . “ The lightsaber is something that he work up himself , and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character , ” Abrams says . blow up on that , the managing director tell the character is n’t as fully formed as Darth Vader was when we conform to him . Much like the cavalry sword , he ’s still a piece of work in progress .

5) That is the iconic Skywalker lightsaber in the trailer

Speaking of lightsabers , the saber that ’s give to Princess Leia in the trailer is , in fact , Anakin Skywalker ’s lightsaber . The one Obi - wan Kenobi gave to Luke Skywalker , and that Anakin himself secernate from Luke when they battled on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back .

6) A single question made J.J. Abrams do the film

J.J. Abrams famously turned down the job directing The Force Awakens , until Kathleen Kennedy said to him , “ Who is Luke Skywalker ? ” Meaning , who is he now , thirty year later . “ He said , ‘ Oh my God , I just make the pall . I ’m in . ’ I have in mind , it really was almost that rapidly , ” Kennedy said .

7) At the start, there was no formal story in place

When Abrams get on add-in , there was no courtly news report for the film in position . Several people ( Michael Arndt , Simon Kinberg , Lawrence Kasdan ) were working on it , but it was a clean slate . “ [ They ] had just been hypothesizing and throw out a clump of what - ifs , but there was no story in topographic point , ” Abrams said . “ It was , without uncertainty , a formidable assignment . There were so many options and so many way of life that could be taken . Even when we were in debate — and sometimes it was frustrative and heated — it was always thrilling , because it seemed almost everywhere you looked there was something potentially sinful , which feel very much like the DNA of Star Wars itself . ”

8) Both sides of the Force see themselves as heroes

Abrams drops an interesting quote in the clause when mouth about the motivations of Kylo Ren . “ I think that there are two side to the Force . Both position , arguably , would see themselves as the submarine of their news report , and I recall that applies here . ”

9) Han Solo is a lead character, but not necessarily Luke or Leia

Harrison Ford , Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher are all back for The Force Awakens but the extent of their persona are belike different . While Ford ’s Han Solo is one of the film ’s leads , the amount of screen time for Leia and Luke is still a mystery .

10) George Lucas has definitely influenced the film

Though he has no verbatim role in the making of The Force Awakens , producer and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said he did have a strong influence . “ George speak often about that tension in everybody between what ’s near and bad . He always matte up that it was easygoing to be bad than good,”she enounce . “ I ’m not sure all citizenry would agree , but I think that that ’s always an interesting battle to explore . So that ’s a big part of the themes inside of Episode VII . ”

11) Lawrence Kasdan turned down working on the prequels

Kasdan , who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , is not only a co - author on The Force Awakens , he ’s atomic number 27 - spell the Han Solo Anthology flick . He ’s to the full back in Star Wars , which is not a property he was a few class ago . He revealed Lucas asked him to come back for the prequels , but he call on him down . “ That was n’t where I was at , ” he say .

12) J.J. Abrams won’t direct Episode IX

With Rian Johnson taking the music director ’s seat for Episode VIII , many are wonder if Abrams will return for Episode IX , tentatively schedule for release in 2019 . He wo n’t . “ No , I ’m not last to engineer Episode IX , as much as I am profoundly jealous of anyone who gets to work with this radical of mass on the succeeding movies , ” he said .

13) There is an end point, but the middle is murky

As for what might bump in Episode IX , Kennedy say they have general round of where this trilogy will go , but that the details are still being work out . “ We know where we ’re going , but only in the broadest horse sense , ” she allege . “ When Rian add up in and started writing his script , he started from scratch , other than cognize what we had done in Episode VII and projecting out where it was expire . He then sit down and put pen to paper , and it ’s 100 % him . ”

UPDATES FOLLOW

14) There’s a reason we don’t know Rey and Finn’s last names yet

It always seemed left that we did n’t know the last names of main characters Finn and Rey . Many suggested cause those last names could be “ Solo ” or “ Skywalker . ” Abrams would n’t say , but did say the omission was intentional . “ “ I will only say about that that it is whole designed that their last name are n’t public platter , ” the managing director said .

15) This is Teedo riding a luggabeast

It ’s emphatically cool that we found out BB-8 has been captured , and then free , in the moving-picture show , but now we bang by who . The character above is name Teedo , and he ’s represent by Kiran Shah . Teedo is ride a luggabeast and you could almost visualise the toy already .

16) Poe Dameron is named after J.J. Abrams’ assistant

Some people who bed Hollywood knew that J.J. Abrams ’ assistant ’s last name is Dameron . They inquire , is Oscar Isaac ’s character Poe Dameron named after her ? Yes , allege the film director . He also just liked the sound of it . As for “ Poe , ” that ’s the name of Abrams ’ daughter ’s stuffed frigid bear .

17) Captain Phasma is named after a classic horror film

Played by Gwendoline Christie , the chrome stormtrooper Captain Phasma is already a fan favourite . As for that name , it came from the picture Phantasm . “ Phasma I name because of the amazing chrome conception that came from Michael Kaplan ’s press team , ” J.J. Abrams order . “ It reminded me of the ballock in Phantasm , and I just thought , Phasma voice really cool . ”

Star Wars : The Force Awakens opens December 18 .

[ Entertainment Weekly 1,2,3,4 ]

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