Skip to main content

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' clip gives JJ Abrams' take on Rey's 'Forceback'

star wars the last jedi daisy ridley force awakens rey
Disney
Star Wars fans are going to get a closer look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens when the 3D collector’s edition is released on November 15, but in the meantime, we’re getting a taste of the new bonus features to come.

The latest episode of The Star Wars Show unveiled a clip from the film’s audio commentary that offers insight from J.J. Abrams on Rey’s “Forceback.” In it, the director discusses the flashback that Daisy Ridley’s character had when she touched Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, including how he chose which parts of the past to include and what got cut. With the scene being an important one, Abrams’ breakdown is especially welcome.

It turns out that “there were many iterations” of the “Forceback” scene, including one in which Rey saw Darth Vader fighting Luke. As we now know, that version was nixed, but it was for good reason; instead, Abrams says they wanted to show a “more personal story” for Rey.

“She was being confronted with truths about the Force, about the past. The Knights of Ren here, the past for herself,” Abrams says in the clip. “She realizes that the cries she heard were actually her own cries as a young girl being taken away from her family. And then she hears a voice, ‘Rey,’ and that’s Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

The resulting scene is powerful, and it’s interesting to hear the work that went on behind the scenes to ensure it would be. The clip should pique fans’ curiosity about what other treasures can be found in the commentary contained in the 3D collector’s edition. Beyond that, they can look forward to additional special features, including never-before-shared deleted scenes and further insight from the film’s cast and crew.

Watch the clip below, with the section of interest starting at 1:55.

Battlefront VR News, The Force Awakens Commentary Preview, and Doug Chiang | The Star Wars Show

The 3D collector’s edition is available overseas on October 31 and in the U.S. on November 15.

Editors' Recommendations

Stephanie Topacio Long
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
The 10 best lightsaber duels in Star Wars, ranked
Luke Skywalker lunges towards Darth Vader during their lightsaber fight on Cloud City.

Star Wars has contributed countless indelible moments and images to our popular culture, but if there’s one artifact that is most intrinsic to the Galaxy Far, Far Away, it’s the fantastical weapon of the Jedi Knights, the lightsaber. From the very first time audiences saw Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader cross glowing, humming swords aboard the Death Star in 1977, we’ve been absolutely obsessed, and storytellers across multiple media and nearly half a century have been only too happy to indulge our craving for increasingly elaborate lightsaber duels.
Lightsaber fights come in all shapes and sizes, from emotional one-on-one bouts in live-action to wild animated free-for-alls, and selecting our 10 favorites from the franchise to date was no easy task. There are a lot of metrics by which to judge — the excitement of the action itself, how it’s shot, the story behind it, the use of environment, even the music to which it’s set — but the cream of the crop are those duels that either dominate one category or harmoniously balance each one. Will your favorites make the list? You’ll find we’re full of surprises …

10. The Ronin vs. the Bandit Leader (The Duel - Visions, season 1, episode 1)

Read more
Like Ahsoka? Watch these 7 Star Wars Rebels episodes
Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano aboard her shuttle in "Ahsoka."

The next chapter of the Star Wars: Rebels saga has come with the premiere of the Disney+ series, Ahsoka. Set years after the disappearance of Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn, the show follows Ahsoka Tano when she seeks them both out as she tries to prevent another war with the remnants of the Galactic Empire.

Since this is a sequel series, some audiences may have some catching up to do. But if they like Ahsoka so far, they should check out these seven episodes of Star Wars: Rebels.
The Siege of Lothal (Parts 1 and 2)

Read more
The 10 best Star Wars action scenes, ranked
Luke Skywalker faces Darth Vade in The Empire Strikes Back.

If there's one thing that Star Wars does better than any other space opera, it's action. Since the debut of the original Star Wars film in 1977, the franchise has continuously upped its action game and put other franchises to shame. This week, the legacy continues with Ahsoka, a new Star Wars spinoff series heading to Disney+. If the trailers are any indication, fans are in for more lightsaber action and intrigue.

When considering the greatest action scenes in Star Wars, we decided that everything in the movies, the live-action series, and the animated series was fair game. However, the franchise's epic space battles have been left out of this list because we wanted to focus on the more visceral action scenes between two or more characters. After all, that is where the greatest drama can be found, as you'll soon see in our roundup of the 10 best Star Wars action scenes.
10. Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith

Read more