--- title: Star Wars Director JJ Abrams and Cast on Making Film as Fans description: "When you are directing a scene on the Millennium Falcon, it doesn’t make the scene good." canonical: https://time.com/3954446/j-j-abrams-star-wars-cast-fans/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-11T12:23:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:22.602Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: J.J. Abrams and the 'Star Wars' Cast on What It's Like to Make the Film as Fans og:description: "When you are directing a scene on the Millennium Falcon, it doesn’t make the scene good," Abrams said og:url: https://time.com/3954446/j-j-abrams-star-wars-cast-fans/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e9e69db53d9cda3/69885a80196cf49ca0037101/gettyimages-480321160.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GettyImages-480321160 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: J.J. Abrams and the 'Star Wars' Cast on What It's Like to Make the Film as Fans twitter:description: "When you are directing a scene on the Millennium Falcon, it doesn’t make the scene good," Abrams said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e9e69db53d9cda3/69885a80196cf49ca0037101/gettyimages-480321160.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # J.J. Abrams and the _Star Wars_ Cast on What It's Like to Make the Film as Fans > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. Ally is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: July 2026. ## Ally: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Ally is a digital financial services company offering online-only banking, including checking and savings accounts, through Ally.com and its mobile apps. Launched in 2009 as an original disruptor in financial services, Ally was built to challenge outdated banking norms with a simpler, more convenient way to bank. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: 100 Years of Blockbusters in 5 Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): 100 Years of Blockbusters in 5 Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tfrXo5zL.m3u8) (5:21)  _Published 2014-02-12. Time has taken the highest grossing film each year for the past century and crammed them into 5 and a half minutes. No Intermission._  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jul 11, 2015 12:23 PM UTC  The Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California. The Lucasfilm panel during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 10, 2015 in San Diego, California.Kevin Winter—2015 Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jul 11, 2015 12:23 PM UTC One thing that every cast and crew member on _Star Wars: The Force Awakens_ probably had in common was the fact that they were all fans of the original George Lucas films. During the film’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, director J.J. Abrams and several of the stars repeated over and over again to a room of more than 6,000 fans that working on _Star Wars_ was a dream come true. J.J. Abrams said he was careful to not let his fandom get in the way of doing his job. “I watched _Star Wars_ with my parents too. It meant as much to me as it means to you,” he said to a fan. “Because we love it and care about it so much, our job is to not be blinded by that. Being a fan is not enough. When you are directing a scene on the Millennium Falcon, it doesn’t make the scene good. It’s b-tchin’ that it’s on the Millennium Falcon. But that doesn’t make it automatically good.” Abrams says he was careful to go back to the fundamentals of storytelling—what is motivating this character in this scene—when he felt himself becoming too overwhelmed by the notion that he must pay homage to such a precious part of pop culture history. It’s a fact that the cast and crew had to confront even when they left the set. John Boyega spoke about taking Harrison Ford to a Nigerian restaurant in London during filming. Everyone inside fell silent when Ford walked in. “This guy comes up to him and goes, ‘Are you Harrison Ford?'” remembered Boyega. “And Harrison Ford says, ‘I used to be.'” Oscar Isaac pointed out that the aura of _Star Wars_ is not limited to the offscreen world. People in the film, like his character Poe, were likely touched by the events of the past movies as well. “Poe was probably watching when the medal ceremony was happening, thinking, ‘I want to be that hero and take up that mantle,'” he said. “And that’s what he does—sometimes even recklessly so.” Not everyone has memorized the canon, though. Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the first three films, admitted that he flunked a _Star Wars_ trivia quiz recently and couldn’t even remember what Han Solo had been smuggling. “I’ve ceded ownership to the world at large,” he said. Both Hamill and Ford will return for the new film. ### See the Concept Art For the Original Star Wars Movie Trilogy  C-3PO and R2-D2 Courtesy of Lucasfilm  The Millenium Falcon Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Darth Vader Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Y-Wings line up against the Death Star Courtesy of Lucasfilm  An X-Wing versus TIE fighters Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Hoth Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Echo Base Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Battle of Hoth Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Battle of Hoth Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Cloud City of Bespin Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Luke versus Darth Vader Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Dagobah Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Jabba's Palace Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Jabba's Palace Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Luke Skywalker versus a rancor Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Jabba's fall Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Endor Courtesy of Lucasfilm  B-Wings Courtesy of Lucasfilm  Luke Skywalker versus Emperor Palpatine Courtesy of Lucasfilm ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3954446/j-j-abrams-star-wars-cast-fans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3954446/j-j-abrams-star-wars-cast-fans/"},"headline":"J.J. 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