Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the forthcoming 3D Collector’s Edition of the movie on Blu-ray is bringing a whole lot more. Firstly, there will be more extra features, but most crucially, it will include a director’s commentary by J.J. Abrams. To help promote the upcoming home video release, bits and pieces of the commentary and other goodies have been released, but one interesting revelation by Abrams confirms reports that started making the rounds as far back as two years ago.
Basically, this is what went down: the first word of the “Force flashback” in ‘The Force Awakens’ that occurs when Rey first holds Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber emerged in 2014. Last December, it was reported that a cut version of the scene would’ve featured the moment when Darth Vader slices off Luke’s hand from ‘Empire Strikes Back,’ and then launched into a series of scenes explaining the journey his lightsaber took in subsequent years before winding up at Maz Kanata’s. And then further word arrived in February that new actors were cast in the roles of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, to allow Abrams to recreate the sequence from different angles. And director confirms as much in the commentary in this excerpt from “The Star Wars Show” (via Comic Book Movie):
Touching the lightsaber triggers what we call the ‘Forceback.’ There were many iterations of this. In one, from the 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 that she couldn’t comprehend, that was overwhelming to her, frightening to her, that was taking her through all of these elemental experiences, of fire, of rain, snow, wind. But also that she was being confronted with truths about the Force, about the past. The Knights of Ren here, the past for herself. She realizes that 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.
Very interesting stuff, and in the end, I’m glad Abrams didn’t punch in a direct connection to the original trilogy. And I agree with this assessment that the scene plays better with Rey and the audience taking it all a bit out of context.
Meanwhile, some other treats have surfaced including a deleted scene featuring Chewbacca and Unkar Plutt (the creature who handed out the food portions to Rey) at Maz Kanata’s. While this excerpt is tame, it reportedly ends with Chewbaccca beating him up. Lastly, Abrams shares a suggestion from Ava DuVernay that improved the climatic showdown between Rey and Kylo Ren. The new home-video edition of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” arrives internationally on October 31st, and stateside on November 15th.