J. J. Abrams confirms there’s a scary superweapon in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

hits theaters in exactly one month, with Disney currently on a tour de force to market the film. We’ve seen brand new scenes from the movie and interesting plot details revealed in series of TV commercials, while Director J.J. Abrams has spoken extensively about the film with the media. In a recent interview, Abrams finally confirmed there’s a superweapon in the new Star Wars movie. And no, it’s not that strange lightsaber we’ve seen over and over in trailers and commercials.

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If you thought Darth Vader’s Death Star was impressive – although quite easy to destroy – then you should get ready for the next-gen planet-shaped star destroyer.

It’s there, on the official poster, right behind all the characters in the image above. And Abrams told Entertainment Weekly in an interview that it’s a next-gen destruction device, without spoiling it too much for fans.

“It is very much — and it’s acknowledged as such in the movie — apparently another Death Star,” Abrams said. “But what it’s capable of, how it works, and what the threat is, is far greater than what the Death Star could have done. Starkiller Base is another step forward, technologically speaking, in terms of power.”

The Starkiller Base, whose name might be a tribute to Luke’s family name from an earlier draft of the Star Wars script or a description of its scariest feature, might be used to destroy entire stars, not just planets. Of course, that’s something Abrams hasn’t shared just yet.

What Abrams did say is that General Hux controls the Starkiller Base, but we’ll just have to wait for the movie’s December 18th premiere to learn more about this superweapon.