ZM's Vaughan Smith explains Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Featuring the crochet magic of Pony McTate.
In a semi-regular feature we'll be running until The Force Awakens is unleashed on December 17, here's our wrap of all the Star Wars things that happened today.
1. Star Wars has never been so cute
If you're still feeling a bit unsure about what's in store for the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, ZM's Vaughan Smith goes through everything we know so far about the upcoming film. Watch the video above.
He explains it all with the help of some of the most adorable crochet Star Wars characters made by Pony McTate. So cute!
The new cast members of The Force Awakens talk about the legacy that is Star Wars in a new behind the scenes clip.
Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn) and Oscar Isaac (Poe) describe what an honour it is to be apart of the next chapter in the movie franchise.
The video also shows a lot of scenes being filmed on the Star Wars set that fans haven't seen before.
3. From Danish rolls to baboon, erm, buns
Actress Carrie Fisher fears her hairstyle in The Force Awakens resembles a baboon's behind.
In the original movies, Princess Leia's hair buns became an iconic style but Carrie fears her look in the upcoming film will be more of a hair-don't than a hairdo!
"I have a new hair style, very briefly, but it reminds me of a baboon a**," she tells The Mirror newspaper.
Fisher did not elaborate further on the coif, which has not been seen by members of the general public ahead of the movie's December 17 release date.
4. New BB-8 poster
Because BB-8 is the best! Look! Isn't that the most adorable little robot ever?
5. With age comes wisdom
After more than 30 years, Harrison Ford is reprising his role as smart aleck smuggler Han Solo in director J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens.
The iconic character, who hasn't been seen on screen since celebrating the fall of the Galactic Empire in 1983's Return of the Jedi, serves as an unlikely mentor to scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley), defector Finn (John Boyega) and pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) as they team up to take on masked adversary Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and his minions.
While the film has been cloaked in an unparalleled level of secrecy, Ford guaranteed that fans can expect the same Solo they fell in love with from the original Star Wars trilogy.
"The shorthand is that he's older and wiser, but his bones are the same," Ford said. "He's not selling real estate now. He's the same guy - only with the passage of 30 years. While we do not sit down and describe what he's been doing for those years, we do discover in the context of the story what the complications have been in his life."
6. "We had to go back in order to go forward"
With little more than a week to go before Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theatres, the plot of the hotly anticipated film is still a closely guarded secret. But director J.J. Abrams promises it won't be a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
The latest installment of the blockbuster sci-fi saga - the first in a decade - opens in New Zealand theaters on December 17 and keen fans can't wait. But the director isn't letting much slip.
"I wanted to keep audiences surprised," Abrams told reporters.
Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams. Photo / AFP
Abrams, also known for his successful reboot of the Star Trek films, added: "It's not a nostalgic trip - we had to go back in order to go forward."
Designers indulged their inner Star Wars geekdom with new looks "to be auctioned off for charity" as fans await the seventh installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The dozen or so garments in the Force 4 Fashion collection by the likes of Diane von Furstenberg, Rag & Bone and Opening Ceremony were based mainly on new characters in the latest film, but also a few veterans. Most recognisable were the stormtrooper ensembles created by Ovadia & Sons, which presented a floor-length boxy white coat with black trim, and by Opening Ceremony, which displayed a more tightly tailored look "well, for a stormtrooper " in white microsuede.
