JJ Abrams has revealed that a key scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was enhanced by a suggestion by his friend and fellow director, Ava DuVernay.
On the commentary track for the forthcoming special edition Blu-Ray release of The Force Awakens, Abrams said showed an early cut of the film to DuVernay, and pointed out a change he had made to the climactic lightsaber duel between Rey (played by Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).
Abrams said: “One of [the suggestions] was she really wanted to see Daisy, in her attack on Ren, have one really cool moment.” Abrams said that, as Rey and Kylo Ren come face to face during their combat, he added an extra shot. “We take this moment of hearing the Force and thinking about what Maz [Maz Kanata, played by Lupita Nyong’o] had told her about closing her eyes and letting it in. And so she has this incredibly internal moment that is extended in movie time where she basically feels it, accepts it, and is now ready to kick his ass.”
Abrams revealed that an injury to Harrison Ford, which has resulted in a £1.6m fine for Star Wars production company Foodles, allowed him time to organise reshoots.
Prior to the release of The Force Awakens, Abrams had named DuVernay – who directed the Oscar-nominated Selma – as a potential director of a Star Wars movie. He said: “Hearing her talk about not just Star Wars but about [genre] films is evidence that she would just kill it.”
