Tidbits From The Force Awakens Press Conference Today In LA

Today's press conference was a really fun gathering of many of the principle actors from the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie. JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan and Kathleen Kennedy rounded out the crew:

The panel was hosted by Mindy Kaling, a professed life-long "huge" Star Wars fan who did her best to help things move along with many personalities on stage. The panel was surprisingly casual - a huge departure from the calculated wordsmithing and marketing efforts of the past 2 years during the film's development. Everyone was unplugged to some degree, which made for a little lack of direction but turned up some interesting tidbits for fans looking to scoop up any detail of the new movie.

Here are a few of the highlights from today, some spoilers may be included here, so you've been warned!

No Sign of Jar Jar
The panelists laughed at the internet rumors about Jar Jar being the mastermind behind the Empire's rise to power, and also made it VERY clear that there will be no Jar Jar in this movie.

No Scene After the Credits
Unlike Disney's Marvel movies, there is no teaser scene after the movie credits. Which I (Josh) am thrilled about. That is Marvel, this is Star Wars. Good call.

They'll Be No Ewoks Either
OK, so the people asking questions weren't exactly super focused on hard-hitting questions, but this one got a good laugh and a clear answer: no Ewoks in The Force Awakens, but there are plenty of them in Return of the Jedi. Funny!

More Captain Phasma in the Future?
It looks like we may get more Captain Phasma in the upcoming movies, as Gwendoline Christie alluded to an interesting character development arc that could lead to interesting stories in the future.

Episode VIII starts in January!
Kathleen Kennedy said that the actors were headed to England in January to continue to saga with the start of Episode VIII. Looks like they'll have little rest after this press tour for Force Awakens! Here we go again ... yeah!

JG

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