New story details for star wars: The force awakens emerge

Plot details remain murky at best for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but a new long form feature on the film may have provided a few more clues. If you are sensitive to any new details on the film, please note that mild spoilers follow.

During a set visit, Rolling Stone's Brian Hiatt was allowed to sit in and watch director J.J. Abrams as he edited the film. During this time, he was able to catch glimpses of The Force Awakens, including parts that hint at major battles taking place throughout.

"Back at Bad Robot, I am permitted to watch Abrams editing the movie for precisely 20 minutes. That adds up to maybe a minute or two of actual footage. So I can confirm that there is a space battle in the film, featuring X-Wings and TIE fighters and something like a Death Star," Hiatt says.

"There is a lightsaber duel, where Kylo Ren is unmasked, revealing an intense-looking, unscarred [Adam] Driver. There is a weapon that the filmmakers, at least, refer to as a 'Sunsucker.' I see a churning energy device on the ground of a planet that sends a massive, lavalike beam upward – Sunsucker or not, it looks scary."

Hiatt also notes a moment when Abrams - along with Kathleen Kennedy and effects supervisor Roger Guyett - begins editing a scene used in a previous trailer.

"They begin by reviewing a shot shown in the trailer, where dozens of flags appear on a castle that belongs to Maz Kanata, a mysterious little goggle-wearing creature, played by Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) via motion-capture and CGI.

According to Hiatt, there's a mix of nostalgic nods to Star Wars' past and an earnest desire to create something new in this moment.

"The flags are designed to drive superfans nuts with references to the earlier movies, but Abrams tells Guyett that too many of them allude to the first of Lucas' prequels: 'I don't want to be too about podracers,' he says. 'I'd rather come up with our stuff.'"

The film crew for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been extremely tight-lipped about the story of The Force Awakens, often speaking cryptically about characters like Luke Skywalker and the newfound bad guy Kylo Ren. Currently, we only have an official trailer and a few TV spots to go off of before seeing the film when it opens on December 18.