Star Wars 7 Won’t Mention Midi-chlorians

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ is already taking a step in the right direction… by glossing over those frankly-ridiculous midi-chlorians.

During an interview with MTV News, director J.J. Abrams was asked a bunch of quick-fire questions… and when asked if midi-chlorians are mentioned, he confirmed they won’t be in the upcoming film.

“In the movie?” he asked. “No.”

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The midi-chlorians were introduced in ‘Episode I: The Phantom Menace’ and were measured in Anakin Skywalker’s blood by the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn to establish whether the young Skywalker could be trained in the ways of the Force.

They were explained to be intelligent microscopic life forms which allow individuals to connect and communicate with the Force. And it proved to be a rather controversial addition to the legends surrounding the mystical old ways… with many ‘Star Wars’ fans finding the concept to be convoluted and simply unnecessary.

But here’s George Lucas’ explanation of what it’s all about.

“I’m assuming that the midi-chlorians are a race that everybody [in the Star Wars universe] knows about. The way you interact and interface with this larger energy field is through the midi-chlorians, which are sensitive to the energy. They are at the core of your life, which is the cell, the living cell. They are in a symbiotic relationship with the cell. And then, because they’re all interconnected as one, they can communicate with the larger Force field. That’s how you deal with the Force.”

“In Anakin’s case, there are, instead of one or two or three midi-chlorians in each cell, there’s like a thousand. It’s unbelievable how many midi-chlorians are in there.”

Quite why this kind of explanation was needed over twenty years after we first saw the Force on the big screen remains a mystery… although it was likely just a convenient plot device to explain why Anakin was so special.

But now it looks as though it won’t be plaguing the saga any longer.

Of course, we don’t know anything about ‘Star Wars VII’s main characters yet, let alone whether or not they might have been packed full of midi-chlorians. But the fact that we won’t have to hear that pseudo-scientific name again is enough to make us giddy.

May the Force (but not the midi-chlorians) be with us.

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ heads to cinemas on 18 December 2015.

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Picture Credit: Lucasfilm