After all the rumours about potential announcements, a line snaking towards Hall H that seemed to stretch all the way to Dagobah and to have started roughly when the original Star Wars was in cinemas, it was finally time for co-writer/director/producer J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm boss/producer Kathleen Kennedy to bring Star Wars: The Force Awakens to Comic-Con. And despite a panel that seemed to look back as much as forward, the definite highlight was an excellent peek behind the scenes of the new film, which you can watch below.
Along for the panel with Abrams and Kennedy were an assortment of faces old and new to the franchise, with co-writer Lawrence Kasdan brought out first. “There is nothing normal about getting to write a movie with Lawrence Kasdan,” admitted Abrams about his experience so far. “I’ve sat down with John Williams to show him scenes from a Star Wars movie that he hadn’t seen yet. There’s nothing normal about this.”
As for where the movie stands right now – there was no footage beyond the reel – Abrams said that it’s working its way through the post-production process. “We’re editing. We have a cut of the movie. We’re in this extraordinary moment where we’re fine tuning,” Abrams says. “We’re working hard to make the movie more of what it wants to be.”
Also present – though not granted a seat on the panel due to his habit of wandering around the stage – was a creature called Baba Jo, who you might have seen gracing the back of the shot in Abrams’ Force For Change charity video announcement. It's just one example of the many practical effects that make up the film, with Abrams pointing out that five people work together to bring that one creature to life.
Talking about having to put his Star Wars fandom to one side to a degree so he can make the film, Abrams explained that he didn’t want to let it get in the way. “When you’re directing a scene on the Millennium Falcon that doesn’t make it automatically good,” he said. “It’s bitchin’… but it doesn’t make it automatically good.”
After a brief mention of Gareth Edwards’ Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One (it starts shooting in three weeks, apparently), it was time to show the reel, which included a shot of Simon Pegg cheekily grinning from within an alien costume. He’d better check that his alien undergarments aren't on fire after trying to convince us all he’s not in the movie. The reel itself remains a delight: a fascinating look at various departments, some intriguing moments including shots of Daisy Ridley’s Rey piloting the Millennium Falcon and a first proper look at Carrie Fisher’s Leia.
After the reel, it was time for Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac to take the stage, bringing with them a smattering of anecdotes, including Ridley talking up her training, Isaac recalling asking Harrison Ford for piloting advice (“It’s fake, it’s a movie” was the reply, “plus it’s in space so that stuff doesn’t apply…”) and, best of all, Boyega’s memory of taking Ford to a Nigerian restaurant in London. “A man came up to him,” the actor recalls, “and said, ‘Are you Harrison Ford?’ And Harrison replied, ‘I used to be…’”
Though the heroes had already made their presence felt at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year, the bigger surprise was the Dark Side of this particular movie, with Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Domhnall Gleeson (whose name, we learned for the first time, is General Hux) and Gwendoline Christie as the Stormtrooper Captain Phasma. When Driver, who was fairly subdued and worried about giving anything up, tried to get away with a quick answer to a question about his character’s morality, Gleeson wasn’t about to let that slide. So Driver elaborated. “It’s the difference between someone who thinks they’re bad and somebody who thinks they’re right… Or morally justified in doing what they do. It’s not as though anyone says, ‘I’m evil…’”
“I’m evil!” piped up Gleeson. “I mean, I’m British [in the film]. So, yeah.” He also proved to be something of a spoiler, letting slip the name of the facility used by the vengeful First Order in the film, Starkiller Base, a tip of the hat to Luke Skywalker’s original name in George Lucas’ early drafts.
Christie, meanwhile, no stranger to wearing armour given her role in Game Of Thrones, admitted she was happy to play Phasma. “I just found it exciting that underneath that armour is a woman, and I find that more relevant than ever.”
With the new kids on the space block having had their say, it was time for what Carrie Fisher – who arrived alongside Mark Hamill and, to massive cheers, Harrison Ford – described as the “legacy players”. Luke, Leia and even Han were in good form as usual, with Hamill recalling a promotional tour to tout the original film back before it even came out and Fisher describing returning to the galaxy far, far away as “like a flashback. They were right about the acid flashbacks…” She also noted that the older members of the cast were “a little melted. But force melted…”
Ford, queried as to how he was feeling after his plane crash in March, seemed in good spirits. He pointed out that while his leg was still injured, he was able to walk on stage, so “I’m fine…” And there was more comedy when, asked where he thought Luke would be in the new film, Hamill answered, “When the only woman you fall for turns out to be your sister… How does that feel? We all laugh about it, but when you follow it through, it must’ve been quite a traumatic experience,” before adding to Ford, “We were both after her…” “How many times can I say I’m sorry?” replied his co-star, gamely rubbing his shoulder in mock comfort.
As his big finish, Abrams had a surprise. “Who likes the music of Star Wars?” he asked. “Who wants to see a live Star Wars concert? We only have room for… All of you!” And with that, he proceeded to clear Hall H, accompanying roughly 6,500 people leaving the room with a performance of orchestral music from John Williams' score. There was also a video message from the music maestro himself, apologising that he couldn’t be there as he was busy writing the new score for The Force Awakens. Ain’t no party like a Star Wars party, because a Star Wars party had free lightsabers for all…