J.J. Abrams explains why this major trailer scene was cut from ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

If you’re the type of “Star Wars” fanatic (aren’t we all) who spent the first couple of trailers trolling each still for plot lines and clues, you may have noticed a few key moments that were absent from the final cut of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Specifically, a pretty big moment for one legacy player, who was handed a lightsaber.

But now we know why that scene was axed. [Mild spoilers ahead.]

The second “Force Awakens” trailer debuted the passing of Luke Skywalker’s famous lightsaber from one orange alien hand (now revealed to be Maz Kanata, the entirely computer-generated character played by Lupita Nyong’o) to the human hand of character Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). Alas, the audience never got to see Princess Leia (now a general) hold that lightsaber. Or Maz and Leia interact (or meet) at all.

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In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director J.J. Abrams explained why one of the more hotly anticipated scenes was cut:

“That was a scene actually filmed, but we took out. At one point, Maz used to continue along with the characters back to the Resistance base, but we realized that she really had nothing to do there of value, except to be sitting around. ... Lupita did film scenes on set for that sequence, but it felt unnecessary. So we ended up leaving those things out.”

So there you have it. It would have been pretty exciting to see Leia get her hands on a lightsaber, but that’s showbiz.

Just ask character Constable Zuvio, who doesn’t really appear in “The Force Awakens” apart from a possible flash in Rey’s vision, despite his action figure and special reveal in Empire Magazine.

Ah, well, there’s always “Episode VIII.”

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