Continuing to peel back the curtain on Star Wars: The Force Awakens one tantalizing layer at a time, Entertainment Weekly has published an array of new photos for J.J. Abrams’ hotly-anticipated blockbuster.
Featuring Rey, Finn, Poe, BB-8 and scores of Stormtroopers, the high-res images offer a handful of enticing new looks at the film, including a meeting between Finn and Poe – John Boyega and Oscar Isaac, respectively – while the former is still suited up in his Stormtropper guise. But what could it mean?
Furthermore, the stills hint at some story trinkets that didn’t make it into the mainline trailer; sequences such as BB-8 rolling up beside Finn and Poe underneath the X-Wings, not to mention Finn and Rey confronting Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren in the frozen forest. Speaking of Ren, J.J. Abrams also levelled about the villainous First Order.
Emerging from the ashes of the Galactic Empire, the totalitarian regime is armed with an all-new, Death Star-esque planet killer, and it’s up to our band of heroes to stop them. Interestingly, though, Gwendoline Christie’s shimmering Captain Phasma was originally designed as a mock up of Driver’s big bad. According to Abrams, it wasn’t until he realized the potential of the character that he set his sights on casting a female lead.
I just thought it would be really cool if we could find someone to play the part who was female, and I’m a fan of Game of Thrones; Gwendoline is in that show, [The Force Awakens casting director] Nina Gold casts it, she knew Gwendoline, obviously. We were very lucky to get to have her in the movie. She’s not in many scenes, but her presence is powerfully felt when she’s there.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens will punch it all the way into theaters on December 18 in North America.
