Movies

POTD: What Does JJ Abrams' Apple Note Tell Us About Episode 7?

JJ Abrams apple note
By Peter Sciretta

If you didn't think JJ Abrams was an Apple fan, then take a look at the Apple Store-looking design of the bridge of the USS Enterprise in his Star Trek films. In his famous "mystery box" Ted Talk, Abrams enthused "I love Apple computers. I'm obsessed. My MacBook challenges me: 'What are you going to write that is worthy of me?'"

So it comes as no surprise that Abrams was glued to the Apple announcements yesterday morning as he prepped for another day of shooting on Star Wars Episode VII. He even tweeted out a photo of a note he wrote geeking out about the new Apple Watch which was announced, but take note of the background of the photo which teases a Star Wars set which might seem familiar to fans of the series. What does this new JJ Abrams photo tell us about Episode 7? Lets speculate after the jump.

Here is the photo in question, tweeted from the Bad Robot twitter account:

The lights in the background of the photo are most likely from the set of Star Wars Episode 7, which may look familiar to Star Wars fans. Here is a look at a shot from the Death Star:

death star

So could this mean that we will see a third death star in Episode 7? Two days earlier, Star Wars Episode VII star John Boyega instagramed the following photo, with the tagline "New week! New planet!" leading many to believe they started shooting on a new set on a different stage at Pinewood in London:

A death star would technically be a new planet, but I'm not sure thats the case here. The Apple note photo could have been shot on a stage/set that is either currently being prepped or already filmed scenes or sequences, so Boyega's tweet may not apply. Also lets remember that this light pattern was seen in other imperial sets — which gets me to my main takeaway.

If the JJ Abrams apple note tells us anything about Episode 7 it is that we'll see some familiar-looking Imperial locations. That doesn't necessarily mean that the Empire is back in power. We've heard rumors about characters on an Imperial Star Destroyer which is no longer part of the Imperial fleet. But I think some of the verbiage from Kevin Smith's Star Wars set visit combined with the leaked images of a possible new Stormtrooper helmet has confirmed that the Imperial Navy was not disbanded after the Rebels won the battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi.

Lets also remember that JJ Abrams loves to tease the mystery box, and is very calculated in what he shows and keeps hidden. The background of his apple note photo was chosen to get Star Wars fans talking. Might he just be playing with us?

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