8 Things J.J. Abrams Doesn’t Want You To Know About Star Wars: The Force Awakens

7. There Will Be Lens Flares (To Some Degree)

Did you know J.J. Abrams has a fondness for lens flares? You did? Guess every single article about the director shoving that basic observation down everyone's throats for the past five years has finally paid off. Naturally it was the first big joke everyone made when Abrams was appointed as Episode VII's director, which over time manifested as a genuine fear that The Force Awakens would have the screen drowned in bright light whenever a lightsaber was ignited. The trailer seemed to allay those fears - although certain shots showed a more stylised shooting style than Lucas' conventional grandeur, lens flares were notable with their absence. But don't be fooled - J.J. did slip some in there. In that jaw-dropping shot of the Falcon swooping along (what is assumed to be) Tatooine, as it passes over one of the suns in the sky, the light refracts in a very Abrams way. It's all very natural (to not have flare would look unreal) and doesn't have that computer-augmented feel many of the Star Trek uses of the trick did, but don't put it past J.J. to engineer some situations to satisfy his lens flare thirst.