1. There was something familiar about the Dejarik board on the Falcon
“I suggest a new strategy, R2: let the Wookie win.” – A classic quote indeed.
In The Force Awakens, Finn accidentally turns on the Dejarik board and the game begins exactly where R2-D2 and Chewbacca left off!
2. Obi-Wan calls out to Rey via the Force
During Rey's flashback scene at Maz Kanata's castle, Obi-Wan Kenobi called out to her via the Force:
“Rey! These are your first steps!”
It was very subtle and many people missed it the first time around, but the internet went bonkers over the revelation. The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams confirmed that, yes, that was Obi-Wan Kenobi calling out to Rey and the voice was that of both actors that have played him – the younger Ewan McGregor and the older, nominated for an Oscar for his turn at the role, Alec Guinness!
It turns out that Ewan had been called in to record this line of dialogue. Which is pretty cool as he was arguably the best thing about the prequel trilogy.
He was the ultimate Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith and his part made Guinness' turn all the more special when you understand what the character went through.
So how did this happen that Guinness had a line as well as McGregor? You can thank producer Bryan Burkk for surprising J.J. with some dialogue that Guinness had recorded when he said the word “afraid.”
The sound engineers were able to take the Rey-sounding syllable as it was phrased just the way the script needed it. McGregor's words were used for the rest of the line.
3. Rey was always awesome, she didn't suddenly become able to take on a Knight of Ren
When we first met Rey, she is shown crawling and abseiling around the crashed Star Destroyer. She later beats up the two men sent by Unkar Plutt to steal BB-8 from her. This subtly demonstrates to the viewer that she can handle herself in a fight, which is handy when she fights the grandson of Darth Vader.
It should also be no surprise when she goes sneaking around the Star Killer base after she has escaped, as she had practiced climbing around the crashed destroyer on Jakku – it was practically her day job.
It's a classic moviemaking trick to show the hero doing something at the start of the movie so it doesn't come as a surprise when they can do it later on.
It's Chekov's gun thinking at play. The subtlety of The Force Awakens is that it's not in your face as much as it is in other movies.
4. It was not an accident that Han Solo kept using Chewbacca's bowcaster
When Han died, Chewbacca shot Kylo Ren in anger to avenge him. What was really happening was the culmination of the movie's running gag of Han Solo using Chewbacca's bowcaster.
The movie made a blunt point that Chewbacca's bowcaster weapon is very strong. Both Chewie and Han Solo used it to great effect, demonstrating that, when hit with it, a target would be thrown ten feet from where they stood – and probably be dead.
After Kylo Ren killed Han Solo, Chewie shot Kylo with the bowcaster. He took the full blast to his chest. He didn't take a back step, which demonstrated how strong he was. However, Chewbacca's shot severely injured him.
The subtlety of this is that it was a deliberately drawn-out plot point that leveled the playing field somewhat so that when Rey fought Kylo, she at least would be able to foot it with him for a time.
The blast had left Ren bleeding and as he faced Rey, his blood was spilling onto the snow at his feet. All those hammy jokes of Han trying out the weapon were a not-so-subtle effort to make the climax of the movie believable.
Did you like that? Star Wars is full of subtle moments. We've got some more:
- 5 subtle moments you may have missed during Revenge of the Sith.
- Why does Luke wear black in Return of the Jedi?
- Even more subtle parts of The Force Awakens.
- Moments you may need to see again in The Last Jedi.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.