With The Force Awakens, director J.J. Abrams will be leaving out at least one controversial element of the Star Wars universe.
MTV recently conducted an interview with Abrams where they asked a series of yes or no questions, one of the most interesting being if anyone ever mentions midi-chlorians in The Force Awakens. The answer? A simple, unequivocal "no."
That should be exciting for hardcore Star Wars fans to hear, as midi-chlorians are one of the most universally derided parts of the series. Introduced in The Phantom Menace, they're microscopic life forms that can be used to measure an individual's connection to the Force. Fans have argued this takes an unexplained power and boils it down to something you can measure with a simple blood test, and that detracts from a lot of the mystique of the Force.
It isn't that surprising that we won't be hearing any more of them, as midi-chlorians were only really that significant in The Phantom Menace and were brought up just a few times throughout the prequels. It also seems that there might not be very many Jedi left in the new movie, and so it's possible our main characters won't even have heard of midi-chlorians before.
This is yet another sign that Abrams is taking virtually all his inspiration from the original films and very little from the prequels. Fans also hated the overuse of CGI in the last three movies, and the Force Awakens crew has made it very clear that they're using plenty of practical effects, as we previously reported.
So if you're skeptical about the new movie because you hated the prequels, don't worry. It sounds like everyone involved with Episode VII feels the same way about them.
The Force Awakens hits theaters on December 18.
Image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com