Han Solo Star Wars: The Force Awakens scene - ‘We needed to do something f*cking bold’, says JJ Abrams

'If we hadn't done that, the movie wouldn't have any guts at all.'

Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams has discussed that scene everyone is talking about (or trying not to, as the case may be), explaining that it was necessary in establishing the new villain.

[MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD - STOP READING NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE FILM]

Speaking at a Q&A following a screening of the film at the Writers Guild of America, Abrams discussed the tough decision to have Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) kill his own father Han Solo (Harrison Ford) near the film’s climax.

"Star Wars had the greatest villain in cinema history. So, how you bring a new villain into that world is a very tricky thing," he explained.

"We knew we needed to do something f**king bold. The only reason why Kylo Ren has any hope of being a worthy successor is because we lose one of the most beloved characters.

"It's this massive tradeoff. How can we possibly do that!? But… if we hadn't done that, the movie wouldn't have any guts at all. It felt very dangerous."

His suggestion that the scene was designed to show how evil Ren is doesn’t help the fan theory than Kylo could be some sort of double agent, who had to kill his father in sight of Stormtroopers for the same reason Snape had to kill Dumbledore in Harry Potter, although this could still be the case and Abrams is just trying to throw us off the scent.

Adam Driver has been praised for his performance as the heir apparent to Vader in the sequel, though the character’s angstyness has led to a very popular ‘Emo Kylo Ren’ Twitter account.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is in cinemas now