We know how much you love Star Wars trivia – and trivia related to The Force Awakens is no exception. With that in mind, here are eight interesting facts about the seventh Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens. We think it's worth reading for number seven alone!
1. Your favorite Yoda actor was nearly in the movie
Frank Oz recorded some dialogue for The Force Awakens. We speculate that it was to use in Rey's “flashback sequence” in the same vein that Obi-Wan was snuck in. Whatever the work was, it didn't make it into the final form of the movie.
2. 007 has a cameo as a mind-tricked Stormtrooper
James Bond star Daniel Craig has a blink-and-you'll-miss-him cameo as a Stormtrooper. Craig was the Stormtrooper featured when Rey attempted to use the Force for a Jedi Mind trick. It's a risky scene as you just have to accept that Rey suddenly found her Force powers and was learning how to use them. However, if you do accept it, it's a fun moment.
3. Phasma's look was at one time considered for Kylo Ren
The look of Captain Phasma's armor look was at one time a conceptual design for Kylo Ren. Phasma wears a black cape with red trim, the colors of the First Order. Given that Phasma was inspired by the Boba Fett character it's no surprise she has a cape, as the original idea for Fett was to have him wear a cape/poncho in the style of Clint Eastward's character from The Man with no Name Spaghetti Westerns. Phasma's chrome armor is said to be taken from a space yacht built on the planet Naboo that Palpatine owned. The suit is thus able to repel radiation. However, Phasma used the chrome item as a symbol of might and power.
4. No one loses a limb on screen, a first for a Star Wars movie
5. Rey was left in Ankar Plutt's care on Jakku as a child
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in Rey's “flashback” sequence, check out the hand that is placed on Rey as a child. As Rey is crying, watching her parent(s)/family leaving her behind, that hand is that of Ankar Plutt – yes, the man charging her for food and water provisions at the Station Outpost.
6. There are 6 Games of Thrones Actors in the movie
There are six actors in The Force Awakens who performed roles in Game of Thrones. Gwendoline Christie is the major player as Captain Phasma, but did you spot Thomas Brodie-Sangster (also of The Maze Runner fame) playing a First Order officer?
Jessica Henwick who was featured in season six of Game of Thrones played X-Wing pilot Jess Testor. Mark Stanley was a Knight of Ren.
Miltos Yerolemou who played Arya’s doomed fencing instructor Syrio Forel is a barfly in Maz Kanata’s bar and Emun Elliott also had a crack as an X-wing pilot. This is because the casting director for the show also did the casting for The Force Awakens. Check out this full list of cameo moments in The Force Awakens.
7. Christopher Lee's niece played Doctor Kalonia!
The doctor that tends to the wound on Chewbacca's arm would have been well known to British Star Wars fans as she was played by Dame Harriet Walter, a renowned stage and screen actress. Her character was called Dr. Kalonia. There's a nice piece of symmetry here in that her uncle was Christoper Lee who played Count Dooku in two Star Wars movies.
8. Ello Asty is a reflection of JJ Abram's love of the Beastie Boys
If you've ever watched a Star Trek movie directed by JJ Abrams, you may have noticed he quite likes the Beastie Boys – and that love has had a wee influence on The Force Awakens. It turns out that the name Ello Asty is a play on the Beastie Boys' work, Hello Nasty.
Asty also has “Born to Ill” written in Aurebesh on his helmet, a further play on the Beastie Boys' debut album, Licence to Ill. Given that, one wonders if BB-8's name is a reference to the band as well! The “Born to Ill” line itself is a play on “Born to Kill', a war reference, made popular by the Stanley Kubrick film, Full Metal Jacket. The line is written on a soldier's helmet – as was Asty's line…
You can catch some more Force Awakens Trivia! Or these 101 Star Wars facts.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Paul Rose Jr is the Editor in Chief of Wealth of Geeks & manages the Associated Press program for The Insiders network. He has worked as TV News Producer, Forensic Analyst, and Train Conductor, among many other things. He’s the former TV Editor for InfuzeMag and owns more books, DVDs, and comics than most people have seen in their lifetimes. When he’s not writing or editing on Wealth of Geeks, he exercises his creative muscle writing screenplays and acting in film and television in Los Angeles, CA.