Which Star Wars character was originally meant to die in The Force Awakens?

If you haven't yet had a chance to see the latest Star Wars film yet (read our review of The Force Awakens here), you might want to bookmark this story and get yourself to a cinema pronto, or else risk being spoiled. With that order of business out of the way...

If you're still with us, you will know that one of the new characters we get introduced to in The Force Awakens is Oscar Isaac's X-Wing Pilot and Resistance fighter Poe Dameron. Isaac is predictably fantastic in the role, but in an interview with GQ he has revealed that he was initially reluctant to sign on as Dameron originally wasn't even going to make it to the film's second act:

"I went back home [to New York], and I thought about it", Isaac says. "Then I wrote him [Abrams] and said, ‘Okay. I’ll do it!’ I figured it would be a cameo: I’ll come in, do my thing, and maybe it’s actually better not to have to sign myself up for three movies". Abrams' reply? "Never mind. I’ve figured it out. You’re in the whole movie now".

This news actually makes a lot of sense; during the film, Dameron at one point is presumed dead and disappears for a considerable part of the movie before reappearing with little explanation. In any case, we're glad we get to see more of Isaac's expert pilot in future Star Wars instalments.

Directed by JJ Abrams and starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Andy Serkis, Oscar Isaac and Gwendoline Christie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is out in cinemas now.

Images: Disney/LucasFilm

Amon Warmann

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.