There are a million moving parts on a blockbuster like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and with so many people working on such a sprawling project, the original vision for the film was bound to evolve quite a bit.
Fortunately, a new book entitled The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens gives us an inside look at that evolution and tracks the record-breaking film from its early concept art to its finishing touches. As you might imagine, this was almost a very different movie from the one we ended up with and Slash Film broke down some of the ideas that were changed or scrapped entirely before everything was finalized. Here are some of the most interesting takeaways:
Supreme Leader Snoke Was Almost a Woman
Along with Maz Kanata, Supreme Leader Snoke was one of the last characters finalized for the film and both were still being tinkered with until a couple of months before its release. Before we ended up with the ancient, creepy-looking male character we saw in The Force Awakens, JJ Abrams & Co. considered making the character a female and also tinkered with the idea of making him younger.
Rey Was Named Kira and Desperately Wanted Out of Jakku
Apparently, Daisy Ridley’s Rey was once a temperamental bad-a** named Kira. While Rey is reluctant to leave Jakku in the film, Kira desperately wanted to get away from her home planet.
Finn Originally Had Han Solo-Style Charisma
Finn, John Boyega’s AWOL stormtrooper, was originally named Sam and was going to be a young white man. Instead, the producers went with a more nuanced take and created a character who had to build up the courage to stand and fight.
Poe Dameron Was Almost a Jedi or Bounty Hunter
Early concept art depicted the character that became ace pilot Poe Dameron as a middle-aged black man and the character was almost written as a Jedi or a bounty hunter before producers settled on a charismatic Rebel pilot.
We Were Almost Visited by the Ghost of Anakin Skywalker
For a time, the plan was for Luke Skywalker to be visited by his father’s ghost, who would have vacillated between the light (Anakin) and the dark (Vader). Franchise superfans will remember that Anakin Skywalker’s ghost appeared at the end of Return of the Jedi, but Vader’s mangled mask was the closest The Force Awakens got to a cameo from the character.
The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is currently in stores and contains plenty of interesting insights into the film-making process. Prices vary but most outlets seem to be offering the book for $25-$40.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.