Disney and Lucasfilm’s long-running marketing pizazz for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is finally beginning to toe the home straight, and a handful of behind-the-scenes images have surfaced adding to the character posters that hit the interwebs only yesterday.
But outside of the core promotional campaign, every news outlet in town is covering J.J. Abrams’ soon-to-be-released space opera, and the latest spotlight comes by way of CBS newsmag 60 Minutes. It was here that both Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Abrams spoke about The Force Awakens, and the former shared a surprising new tidbit regarding the director’s place at the helm.
Chosen by Disney not long after the company’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and its IP, Kennedy reveals that Steven Spielberg – no stranger to the blockbuster scene – championed for Abrams to helm the film early one. As Kennedy reveals, Spielberg said “Kathy, there’s only one director that really should undertake this daunting, epic task, and that’s J.J. Abrams.”
Yes, it seems that Abrams isn’t the only one who can throw their support behind a director to land the gig of directing a Star Wars movie, and the fact that Spielberg claimed he was the “only one” to rejuvenate the dormant icon is very high praise indeed.
Elsewhere, CBS’ show also shed light on the legendary John Williams, who returns to a franchise he helped define to score The Force Awakens. In the video above, you’ll see a wide-eyed Abrams admiring a master at work, revealing that “this is like, momentous … as a fan, I can’t even believe I got to be here.”
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now only a week away from opening in North America – and we can hardly wait. To take a peek behind the scenes of Abrams’ blockbuster, check out the new images below.
