'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Panel Reveals New Character Details and More!
Director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy officially launched the speculation on Star Wars: The Force Awakens into hyperdrive on Thursday during their panel at the massive Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim.
We’ll go through the highlights, bullet-style:
There are lots of physical, practical effects
“When we started talking about what the story would be and how to make it happen, the feeling that struck me was how real Star Wars felt when you first saw A New Hope. We wanted to be authentic. Building as much as we could was the mandate. Even before ILM gets started doing their spectacular [post-production special effects] work, it’s an incredible thing to be able to watch the movie because we were able to have those sets, and it was great for the actors too.”
New Planets: Jakku is the new desert planet. So long, Tatooine.
Force for Change: The charity contest that gave fans a chance to be in the film for a $10 donation has brought in $6 million for UNICEF thus far.
Harrison Ford: He couldn’t make it to event after his plane crash. “The amazing thing about Harrison, and I don’t think anybody out there will be surprised, is that he is the only person who can make an emergency landing on a golf course in front of two doctors,” Kennedy said. “I know by the time we open this movie, Han Solo will be very actively involved in this movie.”
The NEW characters:
Daisy Ridley plays Rey. She’s a scavenger on the shipyard in Jakku. She’s very solitary and self-sufficient… until she meets Finn, played by John Boyega.
“Finn is in incredible danger and the way he decides to react to this danger changes his life and launches him into the Star Wars universe in a very unique way,” Boyega said.
Oscar Isaac, as we know, plays Poe Dameron, “The best friggin’ pilot in the galaxy. He’s been sent on a mission by a certain princess and he ends up coming across Mr. John Boyega’s character and their fates are forever intertwined.”
Isaac told the fans that he was sitting in a hotel room waiting to find out whether he had been cast in the film. A lifelong Star Wars fan himself, he became terrified when he heard that he got the part, and had to blast the iconic theme music to get himself pumped up again.
Boyega, meanwhile, was terrified to tell his parents that he was cast as Finn — he didn’t think they would believe him. In fact, he waited until the first cast photo was made public to break the news to them, so that he’d have proof.
Oh, and remember these two?
Luke and Leia look great!
New stormtroopers:
After a leaked reveal earlier today, fans got a great look at the new uniforms of the Empire’s troops. Shiny!
Watch the new 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' trailer:
