J.J. Abrams

It’s almost time for ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’

Watch the first trailer for the conclusion of the new Star Wars trilogy!

Just when you thought Fred Armisen’s deleted SNL finale sketch the last of Season 41 to hold you over for summer, in swoops a bonus round of celebrity Star Wars auditions! SNL dusted off the November sketch for another round, this time including Matthew McConaughey, along with impressive impressions the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Shia LaBeouf and more.

J.J. Abrams revved up the engine on the ol’ Star Wars ship, launching the series on a new journey with The Force Awakens, but declining to return for the subsequent sequels. Instead, Rian Johnson (Looper) and Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) will be steering the franchise from here on out, directing Episodes 8 and 9, respectively. Johnson is in production on Episode 8 right now, and according to The Force Awakens star Daisy Ridley, the script is “very good.” How good? Abrams regrets turning down the chance to direct it.

The original Star Wars was driven by nostalgia for pulp magazines, Saturday-morning serials, and a simpler era with clear-cut heroes and villains. The new Star Wars is driven by nostalgia for the original Star Wars, and a simpler era when that title evoked words like “adventure” and “excitement,” and not words like “the taxation of trade routes,” and “Jar Jar Binks.” The characters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens are all searching for something of great importance to the galaxy far, far away. I won’t reveal what this MacGuffin is, but I will tell you what it represents: that old Star Wars magic. Can director J.J. Abrams and the rest of the saga’s new creators find it?

Q: What is the best part about getting a thing of fast-food french fries? A: Believing you have finished your cheat-day treat, only to discover that there are still a few stragglers with a pulse left in the bottom of the bag. This phenomenon might illuminate a bit of the logic behind the recent proliferation of post- and mid-credits scenes in studio blockbusters, the practice in which a film squir

George Lucas recently commented about why he walked away from Star Wars and it’s all your fault. In a new video interview for Vanity Fair, the Star Wars creator voiced some of his frustrations with the past of the franchise and his hopes for the future, yielding some uncharacteristically candid soundbites.

Stephen Colbert may be the wildly successful host of a popular late night talk show on a major television network, but that doesn’t change who he really is: a huge nerd. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson said of Colbert, “I have never met a bigger Tolkien geek in my life.” The Late Show host appeared in The Desolation of Smaug and hosted a Hobbit panel at Comic-Con. But his geek cred is not limited to Middle Earth. Last night, Colbert delivered an impassioned prediction of how Star Wars: The Force Awakens will end, and the funniest thing is, he wasn’t joking.

Disney and Lucasfilm are trying very hard to preserve the secrets of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There are reports that the film won’t screen for critics until the day before it opens in theaters. And there are rumors that not only will there be no more trailers, but that the TV spots that run won’t use any new footage and everything you’ve seen so far, is all you’re going to get. But, even as they try to keep a carbonite fist on spoilers, J.J. Abrams has to leave his house. As much as Disney would like, they can’t keep him chained up in a Rancor pit until December 17. The dude has to go out in public. And that he did just the other day, and as people shouted at him “LUKE!!! WHERE’S LUKE!!!!” he was obliged to answer.

Harrison Ford might be a superhero. This, according to Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams, who was on set for Ford’s unfortunate accident last year, when a hydraulic door broke his leg. (As Abrams’ describes it in the clip above, his ankle was at a, gulp, 90-degree angle to the rest of his body. Ew.) Thankfully, Ford was okay. Then he later got into a plane crash and was mostly okay after that too. Because, again, Harrison Ford is a superhero.