Star Wars: The Force Awakens: JJ Abrams Describes Cut Footage From Rey’s Forceback

In the latest installment of The Star Wars Show, a clip of never-before heard audio commentary from J.J. Abrams — which will be included in the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3D Collector’s Edition — was unveiled, and it features the director explaining why footage of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader’s Empire Strikes Back lightsaber duel was cut from Rey’s vision.

“In this scene, she is drawn to this place, almost like Cinderella,” Abrams begins. “And she goes to this box, which, when she opens, she discovers something that of course has no meaning to her; she’s never seen this before; she doesn’t know what it is. But, it has meaning to the audience. Touching the lightsaber triggers what we called the ‘Forceback.’ There were many iterations of this. In one, from this Cloud City corridor, she looked down and saw Vader fighting Luke — which we ended up cutting. We wanted it to be a more personal story, something she couldn’t comprehend, that was overwhelming to her, frightening to her. That was taking her through all these elemental experiences of fire, of rain, snow, wind, but also, she was being confronted with truths about the Force, about the past, the Knights of Ren here, the past for herself. She realizes the cries she heard were actually her own cries as a young girl being taken away from her family. And then she hears a voice, ‘Rey.’ And that’s Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Set thirty years after the events of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens picks up the story of a galaxy turned upside-down with the deposition of the evil Empire and the rise of the Rebel Alliance to take its place. With the cruel First Order rising to fill the void left by the Empire’s destruction and the Resistance dedicated to eradicating their influence, heroes Finn and Rey will need to stop the villainous Kylo Ren and the First Order from assuming total control of the galaxy, with the help of old heroes Han Solo and Leia Organa.

The cast featured the reteaming of original Star Wars stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill, along with Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew. They were joined by newcomer Daisy Ridley, John Boyega (Attack the Block, Imperial Dreams), Adam Driver (Lincoln, Girls), and Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis, The Bourne Legacy).

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was directed by J.J. Abrams and written by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt. Lucasfilm president and eight-time Academy Award nominee Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams, along with his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, are the film’s producers.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3D Collector’s Edition will release this fall, rolling out October 31 and arriving in the US and Canada on November 15.