‘Star Wars’: J.J. Abrams Confirms ‘Another Death Star’

And the Star Wars details keep coming. If you thought we were done learning about the characters and plot of The Force Awakens this week, you were wrong. We have one more little info dump for you, this time concerning Domhnall Gleeson’s mysterious antagonist General Hux and that huge, imposing weapon known as Starkiller Base — and no, it’s no coincidence that it resembles the Death Star.

In ongoing coverage from their massive Star Wars double-issue, EW had a chance to speak with Gleeson about his role as General Hux, whom the actor describes as “ruthless” and a bit of a “disciplinarian.” Gleeson explains why his character was drawn to the First Order, though it should be obvious given his motives:

It’s in the title: order. It’s a desire to lump everything in its place and just have power. The desire for power is hugely motivating for a lot of people and normally the people who want all the power are not the ones who should have it.

The actor says that Hux is driven by a “fear of individuality,” and while he and Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren are both fighting on the side of evil, they don’t exactly get along:

He’s kind of opposite Kylo Ren. They have their own relationship, which is individual and unusual. One of them is strong in different ways than the other. They’re both vying for power.

Speaking of power, the First Order is wielding one seriously formidable weapon: Starkiller Base. The massive destroyer is featured on the film’s official poster and looks eerily similar to another iconic weapon in the Star Wars franchise. According to J.J. Abrams, Starkiller Base was built by the First Order to hopefully succeed where the Empire failed with the Death Star:

It is very much — and it’s acknowledged as such in the movie — apparently another Death Star. But what it’s capable of, how it works, and what the threat is, is far greater than what the Death Star could have done. Starkiller Base is another step forward, technologically speaking, in terms of power.

It’s been a busy week for Star Wars, filled with new footage, photos and plenty of details on the new cast of characters, but we probably won’t hear a whole lot more before the film hits theaters — which is a good thing.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives on December 18.

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