The Force Awakens Behind The Scenes Video: Poe Comes Back

In this behind the scenes video from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens Blu Ray, the cast and crew discuss the changes made to Poe’s role.

In an interview with Oscar Isaac, the actor related how his character in The Force Awakens, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, was originally supposed to die in the beginning of the film. The behind the scenes video below shows Isaac, Lawrence Kasdan and J.J. Abrams discussing the decision that led to making Poe a member of the new Big Three.

After reading his part of the script, which originally had him dying in the beginning of the film, Oscar Isaac had one complaint: in four movies he had done before, the character he portrayed had died in beginning, and he didn’t want to play that role again. So, some time later, Episode VII director J.J. Abrams called him and told him that Poe would now survive throughout the entirety of The Force Awakens.

Kasdan says in the video,

"We were very fortunate when we got Oscar Isaac to play Poe’s character, because the role of Han in the first three movies, he’s the one that draws your eye because you don’t know what he’s gonna do. It’s a[n] archetype that all of use like. We wanted someone like that to be in this group [the new Big Three, with Rey and Finn]."

Clearly, Poe began life as a supporting character and had to work his way up to the upper echelons of the main cast. Even as he appears in the film, his role is minor when compared to that of Rey, the main character, and Finn. Much like Han Solo, his strength of character lies in humorous quips and acts of piloting bravery. However, he plays a pivotal part in the destruction of Starkiller Base and helping Finn escape the clutches of the First Order. And it was also he who retrieved the map to Luke Skywalker, and his droid who carried it to the Resistance. I would say he’s pretty important.

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Is he important enough to survive all three films, though? We know that during production of Return of the Jedi, Harrison Ford wanted Han to die because he didn’t see any reason for the character to be around anymore. Kasdan and Abrams cited a reason for killing off Han in Episode VII as being, though the character was cool, he wasn’t that important to the grand scheme of the story. Poe, being shaped in the image of Han, may have to meet the same fate if he isn’t given a greater presence in the emotional arc of Star Wars going forward.