I am part of a very small splinter group when it comes to Star Wars fanboys: I don’t outright hate Episode I: The Phantom Menace. I know that geek society expects me to instantly vomit in my own mouth a little at just the the thought of George Lucas’ much-derided first prequel film, but I really don’t. Kind of. Because while I most definitely agree that is the poorest of all the Star Wars movies, it’s not wholly criminal. There are good parts, and there are bad parts.
When it comes to those bad parts though, there are 3 things that are universally loathed and justifiably so: Jake Lloyd’s acting, Jar Jar Binks and midichlorians. Since Lloyd’s life pretty much imploded after Star Wars (with his most notable public appearance being a recent arrest by police for speeding), and director JJ Abrams has publicly stated his hatred of Jar Jar, we knew that they would never be showing up in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There was the question of those pesky midichlorians though.
Luckily for the sanity of us fans, during an interview with MTV, writer/director JJ Abrams was asked if there’s any mention of midichlorians in the movie at all, and gave a very definitive “No” to that. Praise Jabba, hallelujah! Check out his answer below, as well as some other questions like whether R2-D2 is an asshole on set!
Created by George Lucas as an answer to a question that a grand sum of no people ever asked EVER, midichlorians are supposed to be some kind of micro organisms that live in every organic being and are the source of The Force. Yes, The Force is a byproduct of a bacterial infection. Or something. And fans were seriously irked at Lucas’ inclusion of it in the official Star Wars canon.
But it looks like Abrams and his creative team – all of whom have professed their love of the midichlorian-free original trilogy several times – are just going to outright ignore their existence. Just like any proper fan already does.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on December 18, 2015.
Last Updated: August 6, 2015
The Sten
August 6, 2015 at 09:11
….yes