J.J. Abrams Had To Pull Back References in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Although we've seen some Star Wars: The Force Awakens footage from the trailer, character reveals, behind-the-scenes content, (via Vanity Fair) and other details, (like the importance of Planet Jakku) the film's plot is still held under wraps. What we know so far is that the film takes place 30 years after Return of the Jedi, and some nostalgic Star Wars elements will return in the film. Director J.J. Abrams reveals that there will be references and hints to the earlier films, and the events that happened in the three-decade gap between the films.

In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine (which is not yet published online), Abrams said that at one point, they had so many of these, so he had to hold back.

"...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."

It sounds like Abrams did what was best to balance the needs of the narrative and the purpose of the references to make the film stand on its own, as he says,"That, to me, has been the constant struggle: to make sure that none of these things are treated like either they're a museum piece and we're trying to honor them or they're gratuitous and thrown in because, well, it's a 'Star Wars' movie so you've got to put these things in. Everything has got to be essential to the characters in the film."

These are insightful thoughts from the director, who's aware that the film isn't just about brining nostalgia. I hope The Force Awakens would introduce new elements to the franchise while also featuring elements from previous films. We'll see if Abrams has successfully done this when The Force Awakens comes out in theaters on December 18.

Source: Playlist