Skip to main content

SXSW to feature the premiere of Star Wars documentary Secrets of The Force Awakens

star wars the force awakens documentary sxsw vfx 0026
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Star Wars fans are going to want to be at South by Southwest this year. The annual music, film, TV, and interactive media festival event in Austin will include the world premiere of a new documentary focused on the making of Episode VIII, reports Variety. Titled Secrets of ‘The Force Awakens’: A Cinematic Journey, the film promises intriguing information about the record-breaking box office hit.

Set to premiere on March 14, the feature-length documentary includes behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast and filmmakers, plus exclusive footage. The South by Southwest premiere will also feature a Q&A session with key players in bringing the film to life: visual effect supervisor Roger Guyett, supervising sound editor Matthew Wood, and co-producer Michelle Rejwan.

The premiere won’t be the only Star Wars-related event during the festival, which runs from March 11 to March 20; The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams will be a keynote speaker. There will be more loosely connected sessions as well. Ryan Britt, author of the essay collection Luke Skywalker Can’t Read and Other Geeky Truths, will present on March 12, for example.

Star Wars aficionados who aren’t able to attend South by Southwest will indeed be missing out, but there is a silver lining: Secrets of ‘The Force Awakens’ will be available in home viewing formats, packaged with Episode VIII. The Force Awakens, and the documentary will be available on digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere on April 1, and then the Blu-ray combo pack and DVD will be released on April 5. Viewers can expect tons of bonus features, from a look at how BB-8 was created to exclusive footage from table reads.

In addition to Secrets of ‘The Force Awakens,’ South by Southwest will host the premieres of Netflix original Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, Keanu, a movie starring comedy duo Key and Peele; and Seth Rogen’s new AMC series Preacher.

Editors' Recommendations

Stephanie Topacio Long
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
The Acolyte’s first trailer embraces the Dark Side of Star Wars
Amandla Stenberg in The Acolyte.

Since the launch of Disney+ in 2019, there have been four live-action Star Wars series, including The Mandalorian and Andor. But the one thing that each of those shows had in common was that they followed the hero of the story. This summer, The Acolyte is flipping the switch on that by putting the spotlight on Mae (Amandla Stenberg), a former Padawan in the Jedi Order who seems to have quite a grudge against her onetime masters. That may be why Mae is attacking and apparently killing Jedi with knives in the first trailer for The Acolyte.

The Acolyte | Official Trailer | Disney+

Read more
Star Wars could’ve had Christopher Walken as Han Solo and Jodie Foster as Princess Leia
An old man talks in Dune: Part Two.

The great thing about a hit movie is that you tend to find out things during interviews, premieres, and press conferences that would have never surfaced otherwise. Dune: Part Two is one such movie. In the lead-up to the movie's blockbuster opening weekend, we've discovered Josh Brolin's hidden talents as a poet and photographer, Javier Bardem's dedication to his children, Zendaya's love for the sci-fi classic Metropolis, and Austin Butler's appreciation for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The most recent revelation, however, tops all of those. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Christopher Walken, who plays Shaddam IV, the film's fearsome Emperor, explains why he came out of a four-year break from acting in films and joined Dune: Part Two. One reason was due to his admiration for the first film, which cemented Denis Villeneuve's status as one of the best sci-fi directors ever, and his appreciation of the sequel's impressive cast, which also includes Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, and Dave Bautista.

Read more
10 surprising facts about Star Wars you didn’t know
Han Solo points at himself in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Thanks to its status as one of the most popular franchises in the history of movies, Star Wars has a hoard of fans that rivals any out there.

It's also got plenty of trivia that has accumulated for decades, and if you're someone who digs deep on everything from Star Wars shows to even the Star Wars movies that don't happen, then you might be interested in some of the facts we've assembled here. Here are 10 facts about the mega-franchise that may surprise even some major fans.
Obi-Wan was supposed to survive

Read more