Now that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been set every box office record imaginable, Disney is aiming to garner some awards for the film. The script for The Force Awakens was distributed to the Writers Guild of America members for consideration. The copy of the screenplay sent out did not include deleted scenes, but provided indications of J.J. Abrams’ and writers Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt’s intentions behind specific scenes. For that one person who hasn’t seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens, obviously this requires a SPOILER WARNING.

SlashFilm

The final shot of The Force Awakens, which has already become iconic, has no dialogue whatsoever, leaving it open to speculation. Rey extends her hand out to Luke Skywalker, seemingly offering him the lightsaber. Luke has a facial expression that could be interpreted as disgruntled or unhappy to see Rey, as some fans have suggested to me. The script describes this expression as a “kindness in his eyes, but there’s something tortured, too.” Perhaps most important, the script notes that Luke “doesn’t need to ask her who she is, or what she is doing here.” While this indicates he knows her, this is still not definitive. Luke may have simply sensed her presence through the Force or, as many suspect, Rey is Luke’s daughter. Or maybe he recognizes her for another reason. Read that theory here.

The script goes on to say that when Rey holds the lightsaber out to Luke, it is “An offer. A plea. The galaxy’s only hope.” Finally it concludes with “HOLD ON LUKE SKYWALKER’S INCREDIBLE FACE, amazed and conflicted at what he sees, as our MUSIC BUILDS, the promise of an adventure, just beginning…”

The name of the planet Luke was found on is revealed in the script as “AHCH-TO” and is described as being a “pristine and mighty OCEAN” covered in “endless BLUE, dotted with random, beautiful, mountainous BLACK ROCK ISLANDS, dotted with countless GREEN TREES.” This planet is not previously known to the Star Wars Universe, but SlashFilm has offered two possibilities. “Ahch” is a Hebrew word meaning “brother” which they suggest is subtly indicating Rey is Luke’s brother somehow. The other possibility is that the name is simply a placeholder and refers to the scene leading into the next film, pronouncing it “act two”.

Earlier in the film, when Rey first touches Luke’s lightsaber, she has a vision which consists of several quick scenes. There has been lots of speculation about this flurry of images. Were those the Knights of Ren? Who was stabbed by a lightsaber? The script confirmed that yes indeed those are the Knights of Ren. It reads, “We PIVOT AROUND HER to REVEAL KYLO REN, and the six other KNIGHTS OF REN, who flank him!” The man stabbed by “A FIERY LIGHTSABER!” is “A WARRIOR” and not Constable Zuvio as previously rumored. When Luke places his hand on R2-D2, this was not during the attack on his Jedi Training Academy. The script states that audiences “see a BURNING TEMPLE AT NIGHT”, confirming that this was during the attack. Also in Rey’s vision is a scene where “disembodied voices fill the air” and she hears a “mechanical breathing sound”. While not disputed, this scene is confirmed to be set in “a hallway of from [sic] deep inside Cloud City.” 

Kylo Ren is shocked when he kills his father. After stabbing Han, “Kylo Ren is somehow WEAKENED by this wicked act”. The script notes that he is “horrified” and this “SHOCK is broken only when” Chewbacca shoots Kylo Ren with a blaster.

Perhaps of the biggest reveal is Rey’s inner thought process as she strikes down Kylo Ren in the final lightsaber duel, which completely deviates from how I viewed the scene. In the scene, Kylo Ren is knocked to the ground “a fearful man, a large burn scar slashed across his face.” As Rey stands above him “she could kill him — right now, with ONE VICIOUS STRIKE! But she stops. Realizing she stands on a greater edge than even the cliff — the edge of the dark side. The earth SHAKES. The earth splits. A gully forms.” This is Rey feeling the pull of the dark side and is more clear in the novelization of film. The book describes an “amorphous, unidentifiable, raw” voice tell Rey to “kill him.” In the audio book version, it appears that this is the voice of Supreme Leader Snoke.

It should be noted that while these details seem completely legitimate, the script has note been released on the official Disney awards consideration website. The script was obtained by Slashfilm and these details have not be confirmed.