When J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan took over writing duties from Michael Arndt on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it was said that one of the reasons for the rewrite was that Abrams wanted to shift some of the focus back to the characters of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia, as opposed to the supporting role they played in Arndt’s script.
Well, it seems this may have led to an excess of Original Trilogy references, with Abrams revealing to Vanity Fair that they ultimately decided to cut back on the fan service, as well as avoiding too much in the way of set up for the subsequent sequels and spin-off projects:
“We’ve obviously had a lot of time [during the development process] to talk about what’s happened outside of the borders of the story that you’re seeing. So there are, of course, references to things, and some are very oblique so that hopefully the audience can infer what the characters are referring to. We used to have more references to things that we pulled out because they almost felt like they were trying too hard to allude to something. I think that the key is—and whether we’ve accomplished that or not is, of course, up to the audience—but the key is that references be essential so that you don’t reference a lot of things that feel like, oh, we’re laying pipe for, you know, an animated series or further movies. It should feel like things are being referenced for a reason.”
SEE ALSO: New images from Star Wars: The Force Awakens featuring Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set for release on December 18th and sees J.J. Abrams directing returning stars Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kenny Baker (R2-D2) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) in addition to Adam Driver (Girls), Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year), Andy Serkis (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Silent Witness), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Miltos Yerolemou (Game of Thrones), Max von Sydow (The Exorcist), Jessica Henwick (Spirit Warriors), Christina Chong (24: Live Another Day) and newcomers Crystal Clarke and Pip Andersen.
https://youtu.be/8HTiU_hrLms?list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5
Originally published May 8, 2015. Updated March 1, 2020.
