Don't Expect Lots Of Easter Eggs In Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The unveiling of Star Wars: The Force Awakens tidbits continues, with director J.J. Abrams discussing how the movie will reference the larger franchise. With six movies preceding it and at least another two to follow, plus standalone films and TV shows, there's a lot going on in the Star Wars universe that Episode VII could tie into. Abrams, however, doesn't want to be going overboard with the nods and winks, preferring instead to make a movie that stands on its own. Speaking to Vanity Fair, he admitted that while there would of course be references to things elsewhere, there were a lot of Easter eggs that he's actually removed because they didn't serve the story. He went on to note that references couldn't be made just for the sake of laying groundwork for future movies or animated TV series:

"That, to me, has been the constant struggle: to make sure that none of these things are treated like either they€™re a museum piece and we€™re trying to honour them or they€™re gratuitous and thrown in because, well, it€™s a Star Wars movie so you€™ve got to put these things in. Everything has got to be essential to the characters in the film."

This difficult balancing act is something Abrams has experience of from Star Trek, and judging from his words he may have learnt from his mistakes there. There's already plenty to tie the new film into the old, with Original Trilogy stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford all set to reprise their roles, while there could still be a nod to the prequels. As for that rest, we'll find out when The Force Awakens is released on December 18th.