Entertainment

Harrison Ford Surprised Fans At A 'Star Wars' Screening, & 4 Other Times He's Shown He's Psyched About 'The Force Awakens'

by Kenza Moller

At a special Star Wars: The Force Awakens screening for fans in Sydney, where they got to watch 10 minutes of the sequel, there was an even bigger surprise sitting in the audience: Harrison Ford surprised fans at a Star Wars screening by sneaking in during the preview. He remained inconspicuous during the screening itself — if we had a shot at only 10 minutes of the new film, we probably wouldn't be looking about for latecomers sneaking in, either — but stood up when a spotlight shone on him at the end of the film.

He promised fans that there was plenty more where those 10 minutes came from, and asked them to keep mum about what they'd seen. "Let's make a deal — don't tell your friends what you've seen here today," he told them. Lucasfilm and Disney have attempted to keep The Force Awakens' plot under wraps, and though rumors abound and the actors have been doing the press circuit, the film has largely remained secret.

This isn't the first time Ford has shown he's psyched about returning to Star Wars, and fans are loving it.

When He Refused to Give Jimmy Kimmel Any Hints

While dressed as a hot dog, Ford talked to a suitably-dressed Jimmy Kimmel/Princess Leia about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Though he was on the show to talk about the film, he managed to divulge surprisingly few clues, dodging questions that might give away plot points.

"Everyone seems to be wondering why Luke Skywalker isn't on the poster," Kimmel comments. "Do you have any knowledge of why that is?"

"He's not," Ford says. "There wasn't room."

The Time He Revealed a Spoiler on Twitter

Ford took over the official Star Wars Twitter account to answer fans' questions earlier in the month, and he revealed a bit of a spoiler when asked what his favorite scene was:

When I first read it, I didn't see it as a spoiler — but since the movie has been so hush-hush secretive, any scene not included in the trailer counts as a spoiler. Some fans loved it — others weren't so down.

When He Suggested We CAN'T EVEN TRUST THE TRAILERS

Ford told io9 that Han Solo's lines in the trailers — most notably, the heart-jerking "Chewie, we're home" and "It's true, all of it" — are not to be trusted.

"[It's] about something else," he said. "By the time you get to the 'It's all true' part of the movie, there's a big, full story that fills the frame, and it's not all about Han." He attributed the trailer's placement of the quotes to director J.J. Abram's genius, saying, "It's about triggering the memory of the experience."

When He Got Our Hopes Up — Way Up

Harrison Ford told The LA Times that "there's no comparison" between the buildup of the first Star Wars films and The Force Awakens. "This is a level of excitement and, it's fair to say, merchandising genius, that I have not seen before."

He's also said the film is "wonderful" and "great" — and plenty of other adjectives that's head to use in place of describing the plot at all, in case of letting loose any more spoilers. Coming from Ford, who can be less emotive in interviews, that says a lot.

Personally, I can't wait to watch it. The movie comes out Dec. 18th, but you'll probably have to line up with a bunch of wookies and ewoks to make it in — with any luck, Ford will show up to make the line worth it.

Images: Ian Gavan/Getty Images Entertainment; bmagbrisbane/Instagram, Jimmy Kimmel Live/YouTube, GIPHY.