When the poster for Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens landed last month, it posed some intriguing questions – first, where the hell was Luke Skywalker, and second, what the hell was that big Death Star-looking thing in the background?
In a recent interview with EW, director J.J. Abrams answered at least one of these questions.
Be warned that some slight spoilers follow, so if you can’t make up your mind as to whether you should read on, here’s a 10-hour loop of the Cantina Band to help you think:
Still here? Great.
In his recent interview, Abrams did not shed any light on Skywalker’s absence from the poster, but revealed that the big, round, scary-looking object is in fact Starkiller Base.
The base is a command centre for the First Order, remnants of the Empire, and Abrams said:
“It is very much – and it’s acknowledged as such in the movie – apparently another Death Star. But what it’s capable of, how it works, and what the threat is, is far greater than what the Death Star could have done. Starkiller Base is another step forward, technologically speaking, in terms of power.”
Abrams also revealed that the villains in The Force Awakens will be way more villainous than the ones who came before them, determined to succeed where Darth Vader and The Emperor failed.
Said Abrams:
“Evil’s a little bit like a drug,. It takes more and more of it to have the same effect. And I think the First Order is a really deadly drug.”
The interview also shed some light on a character who has not been widely-discussed in the pre-release hype: General Hux, played by Domnhall Gleeson.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Promo Offers New Look at General Hux – https://t.co/Q3JFmeTyEX pic.twitter.com/DmZW0nKwZt
— Screen Rant (@screenrant) November 14, 2015
Speaking to EW, Gleeson described his character as “a strong disciplinarian” with a disdain for individuality.
“You don’t get that high up in your life that quickly unless you’re pretty ruthless,” he said. “You have to put a few people down on the way to get there.”
Hux is also a close comrade of Adam Driver‘s Darth Vader-obsessed Kylo Ren, but the two are not exactly on friendly terms.
“They have their own relationship, which is individual and unusual,” Gleeson said. “One of them is strong in different ways than the other. They’re both vying for power.”
The Force Awakens is out on December 17 in Australia.
via EW
Photo: Kevin Winter via Getty Images
Photo: Kevin Winter via Getty Images
