What J.J. Abrams Swears We Won't See in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

In the Star Wars prequels, George Lucas made some changes to the universe that fans despised. One element that many find an issue was the way he explained the Force, and that it originates with something called midi-chlorians. Thanks to Director J.J. Abrams, won't be seeing any of that crap in The Force Awakens.

MTV caught up with Abrams during a red carpet appearance at the Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation premiere, and although he's been dodging questions about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he let his guard down a bit during a jokey "Yes or No" questions with Josh Horowitz of MTV News, and revealed definitely that the midi-chlorians will not appear in Episode VII. Watch the interview above.

If you've seen The Phantom Menace, you'd recall that midi-chlorians are microscopic life forms that exist inside the cells of all living things. Those with a lot of midi-chlorians, such as young Anakin Skywalker, are known to have great potential in The Force. Many fans objected to this concept, which were created to reduce the universal, democratic nature of The Force ("an energy field created by all living things," according to Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars) to a limited, selective power that can be determined by a blood test.

Abrams' decision to exclude the midi-chlorians from The Force Awakens is not surprising since the director has previously said that he's only treating the original trilogy as canon.

Though he gave MTV News the scoop on midi-chlorians, Abrams refused to answer Horowitz's other questions — like whether anyone will use the phrase "May the Force be with you," and how long the finished film will be.

"The running time is always adjusting. It's anywhere from an hour and a half to four hours. Somewhere in that area," Abrams joked. "[The Lord of the Rings director] Peter Jackson keeps calling and saying ‘Make it four hours!'"

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released in theaters on Dec. 18. Watch the interview below:

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