J.J. Abrams Admits Mistake He Made In Force Awakens
Very few movies are ever “perfect”. True, many achieve numerous honors, including “Best Picture” at various awards shows, but rarely are they ever truly “perfect”. For Star Wars: The Force Awakens, though it’s the highest grossing movie of all time in many respects, numerous fans have noted how it’s not exactly what they expected. And pointing out things they wish had changed, or weren’t included.
One of the more rational notes is the scene where (spoilers ahead!!!) General Leia hugs Rey instead of Chewie after Han Solo’s death. This struck fans as odd, as Leia barely knew Rey, but was near Chewie for years, and possibly decades. According to director J.J. Abrams, this is something he too wishes he changed.
“That was probably one of the mistakes I made in that,” Abrams told /Film. “My thinking at the time was that Chewbacca, despite the pain he was feeling, was focused on trying to save Finn and getting him taken care of. So I tried to have Chewbacca go off with him and focus on Rey, and then have Rey find Leia and Leia find Rey. The idea being that both of them being strong with the Force and never having met, would know about each other — that Leia would have been told about her beyond what we saw onscreen and Rey of course would have learned about Leia. And that reunion would be a meeting and a reunion all in one, and a sort of commiseration of their mutual loss.