JJ Abrams Reveals 'Selma' Director Ava DuVernay's Influence on the Final Duel in 'The Force Awakens'

Another clip from JJ Abrams' commentary track for Star Wars: The Force Awakens that will be released on the 3D blu-ray of the film, hitting shelves on November 15th.  This clip, released by Yahoo! Movies, features Abrams commenting on the final lightsaber duel between Kylo Ren and Rey.  Abrams reveals he showed an early cut of the film to his friend Ava DuVarnay, who directed the film Selma (which stars Star Wars Rebels actor David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr.).  DuVarnay offered Abrams some notes on the fight, which ultimately led to Abrams adding the close-up shot of Rey attacking Kylo at the end of the duel in the reshoots.  Check out the video below,

It was also interesting to hear Abrams discuss how the moment Rey taps into the Force, recalling what Maz had told her earlier in the film, evolved from her calling Kylo a monster (which was moved to the start of the fight).

The 3D Blu-ray of Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits shelves on November 15th.  Three other clips from the Abrams commentary, one discussing Kylo Ren's fateful decision, the second discussing Rey and Finn's relationship, and the third discussing the "force-back" scene have also been released.  In addition, a new deleted scene was released.