A Star Wars creative has outlined some behind-the-scenes tension surrounding a plot point from The Force Awakens in a series of now-deleted tweets.
Pablo Hidalgo, who works for the Lucasfilm Story Group which oversees the direction of Star Wars canon, responded to a tweet asking about a certain narrative beat in Episode 7 (H/T ComicBook.com (opens in new tab)).
In the final movie, the First Order’s Starkiller Base blows up Hosnian Prime instead of the more prominent Republic world of Coruscant – and a Star Wars fan was keen to know whether that out-of-nowhere was a decision from director J.J. Abrams or another source.
“Basically [J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot] wanted [Coruscant] blown up; [Lucasfilm] didn’t,” Hidalgo said in the tweet, which can still be accessed via the Wayback Machine (opens in new tab). “Hosnian Prime was the unsatisfying middle ground. It happens.”
Hidalgo also later clarified that it was “some folks” at each company, and not each company’s over-arching directive, that pushed for each outcome. Hosnian Prime (a planet that had never been referenced up until that point) won out in the end.
The peek behind the creative curtain does, again, speak to a sequel trilogy laced with a creative push-and-pull from the off. That included director Colin Trevorrow departing Episode 9, with J.J. Abrams returning to cap off the trilogy with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
The alleged draft of Trevorrow’s script revealed several major changes to the finished product, including Luke’s Force Ghost accompanying Kylo Ren – and even a major set-piece with Finn on, you guessed it, Coruscant.
Whatever its past transgressions, Star Wars’ future is certainly looking promising. The Mandalorian season 3 is forthcoming, and here are the upcoming Star Wars movies we have to look forward to – including projects from Taika Waititi and Kevin Feige.