The Force Awakens will continue the Skywalker family saga, 30 years after we last saw them celebrating on the moon of Endor, but the newest Star Wars movie will still be able to stand on its own, as its own complete story, according to director J.J. Abrams.

Speaking with WIRED, Abrams said, “We wanted to tell a story that had its own self-contained beginning, middle, and end, but at the same time, like A New Hope, implied a history that preceded it and also hinted at a future to follow.”

This is not really all that radical or surprising, since the same is true of the first movie from both of the other two trilogies. A New Hope stood on its own, but so did The Phantom Menace. It is the second film in each that really ends with much of the story unresolved and a clear path to the third film to resolve the conflict. It is interesting, however, when you think of it in those terms, the first films end on a high note for the good guys, and this could be an indication The Force Awakens will continue the tradition. Although, with so much speculation that Abrams will spring surprises or twists on us, maybe that’s exactly the type of ending he’d want to avoid.

He also talked about something this movie offers a storyteller, in much the same way the original did. “The Force Awakens has this incredible advantage, not just of a passionate fan base but also of a back-story that is familiar to a lot of people,” he said, “We’ve been able to use what came before in a very organic way, because we didn’t have to reboot anything.”

As for what he wanted from this film, he discussed the number one thing that drove him and Lawrence Kasdan (co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) as they were mapping out the story. “How do we make this movie delightful?” That was really the only requirement Larry and I imposed on each other: The movie needed to be delightful. It was not about explaining everything away, not about introducing a certain number of toys for a corporation, not about trying to appease anyone. This has only ever been about what gets us excited.”

If you’ve been at all worried about the massive promotional campaign, especially the always present Star Wars collectables element, those are certainly encouraging words to hear.

Make sure you head over to read the rest of the interview, including hearing about some past mistakes he felt he made with some of his films that helped guide him with The Force Awakens.

So what do you make of this news? What is your best guess as to what the story of this film will entail? Share it with us in the comments below.

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HT: WIRED
Image: Disney/Lucasfilm/Omaze