J.J. Abrams: Rey’s innate Force powers are “not an accident”
We’re hurtling toward the theatrical premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Director J.J. Abrams recently spoke with Rolling Stone about the film, as well as the entire sequel trilogy as a whole.
The most important part of the interview may be the bit where Rolling Stone asked about Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) ability to learn the ways of the Force much faster than Luke Skywalker did in the original trilogy. “Yeah, spooky, right?” Abrams said, smiling like someone who knows too much. “It’s a fair point. It’s not an accident.”
"The idea was to tell a tale of a young woman who was innately powerful, innately moral, innately good, but also struggling with her place in the world and forced to fend for herself in every way. As exciting as it was to get to play in the Star Wars universe, it was this young woman that I felt oddly compelled to get to know. Even at the very first meeting with Kathleen Kennedy, the idea came up about having a female at the center of it. There was an inherent sense of “We’ve seen the story before of the young hero,” but we’d never seen it through the eyes of a woman like this, and that, to me, was the most exciting thing."
What are you hiding, Abrams? What’s special about Rey? More and more, it looks like the whole, “Rey’s parents were no one important,” thing from The Last Jedi might be overturned.
Abrams was naturally dodgy about that, and indeed anything having to do with Episode IX, but he did talk a little about why he felt the sequel trilogy had to be the end of the Skywalker Saga, and what might follow.
"It felt like it earned being the conclusion of that story. Who’s to say what comes next? Is there something else to be done that involves any of these characters? I’m working on nothing [Star Wars-related], so I’m not hinting at anything. I’m just saying, who’s to know, but it just felt like the end."
Right now, Abrams is just focused on ending the Skywalker Saga on the right note. “Well, you certainly want to feel like it was worth the journey, and like there’s something satisfying — without talking about happy or sad endings,” he said. “The challenge was to find a way to be consistent, honor what’s come before, but also do something that’s unexpected. It had to be something that feels like it’s part of the piece but relevant to today. And then, while you’re on the tightrope, you want to dance. You want the thing to have delight. So you’re on this razor’s edge.”
The Rise of Skywalker: you will dance on the razor’s edge.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters on December 20.
Next. Daenerys has some fun in a deleted scene from Game of Thrones season 8. dark
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels