Now thatStar Wars: The Force Awakenshas finally hit theaters, with a record-breaking debut of $238 million at thebox office, fans are starting to discuss several important moments and scenes. One of the most memorable moments is a scene at Maz Kanata’s (Lupita Nyong’o), where she presents Luke Skywalker’s (Mark Hamill) lightsaber to Rey (Daisy Ridley). When she touches this Jedi weapon, it triggers a unique vision that features moments from the past, present and future, which also includes a few familiar voices.Entertainment Weeklycaught up with directorJ.J. Abrams, who confirmed that both Alec Guinness andEwan McGregor’s voices were heard as different versions of Obi-Wan Kenobi, whileFrank Ozalso returned to voice Yoda. Here’s what the director had to say about the decision to use these voices.
“The idea of the voices was, we wanted the audience to feel - but not necessarily be presented right in your face - this idea that familiar, Force-strong voices were connecting with her. At least as well as they could.”
The iconic Alec Guinness' return asObi-Wan Kenobimay come as quite the surprise for many fans, since the beloved actor passed away in 2000 at the age of 86. He is only heard saying the word “Rey” in that scene, butJ.J. Abramsrevealed that one of his producers, Bryan Burk, surprised the director by managing to pull out the word “Rey” from one of Alec Guinness' previously-recorded lines. Here’s whatJ.J. Abramshad to say about Alec Guinness' line.
“I said, ‘That’s cool, is that the thing fromEwan McGregor?’ He said ‘No, we took a line from Alec Guinness saying ‘Afraid.’ They cut it, and you hear the performance - he’s saying it the way I would have begged Alec Guinness to have said it. It is so crazy perfect. So when you hear Obi-Wan talk toReyit is both Alec Guinness andEwan McGregordoing the voice.”
Frank Oznot only provided the voice of Yoda in the first sixStar Warsmovies, but he also puppeteered this iconic character. WhileFrank Oz’s puppeteering skills were not needed forStar Wars: The Force Awakens, he did contribute new dialogue for the movie, although Abrams says they ended up using pre-existing elements of the Jedi master’s voice. Here’s what the director had to say aboutFrank Oz’s involvement.
“He was incredibly generous and came in to Bad Robot, where we had a recording area, and he was doing Yoda, saying a number of lines we gave to him. This whole experience has been one outrageous moment after another. Just watchingFrank Oz, you look at him and talk to him and his voice is very deep. I don’t know why I would have thought he sounded like Miss Piggy! He was very generous to say, ‘Whatever makes the movie better, I’m happy to help out.'”
With the inclusion of Alec Guinness,Ewan McGregorandFrank OzinStar Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s certainly possible that their voices may be used again in directorRian Johnson’sStar Wars: Episode VIII. ScreenwriterLawrence Kasdansaid this vision/flashback sequence gave fans a hint of Rey’s back story, but they didn’t want to delve into it too deeply. Here’s what the writer had to say about how Rey’s story may be fleshed out even more inStar Wars: Episode VIII.
“We’re hopingRian Johnsoncan figure that out. We were really stymied!”
BothJ.J. AbramsandLawrence Kasdanknow where Rey really comes from, and why she was abandoned on Jakku.J.J. Abramsreveals that this mystery, and others, will be revealed throughout the rest of this trilogy. The director adds that the biggest revelations of the original trilogy didn’t happen in the first movie.
“Everyone who has seen these movies thinks about ‘I am your father…’ and There is another…’ But neither of those things were in [1977’s original] Star Wars. Star Wars didn’t say Luke was the son of Vader. Star Wars didn’t sayLeiawas the sister of Luke. You didn’t understand what these references were: the Empire, dark times, Clone Wars. There were these things that were discussed that don’t get explained. George [Lucas] dropped you into a story and respected you to infer everything necessary to understand what you need to know. Can this movie actually also hold, ‘And Rey is this … And Finn is that … And this is where Poe is from …’ This is the first of a series. There is a story to be told. And it will be.”
What do you think about theseStar Wars: The Force Awakensrevelations?Star Wars: Episode VIIIis slated to begin production early next year, but, given how little we knew about the plot ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens, it seems unlikely we’ll be getting too many official details when production gets under way. Be sure to stay tuned for more onStar Wars: The Force AwakensandStar Wars: Episode VIII.
