J.J. Abrams calls Leia hugging Rey in 'Force Awakens' a 'mistake'

LOS ANGELES, March 9 (UPI) -- J.J. Abrams has admitted to an oversight he made while filming a scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens involving Rey (Daisy Ridley) hugging General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher).

(Spoiler alert!)

The often discussed scene takes place after the tragic death of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) as the Resistance celebrates their victory over The First Order.

As Rey arrives from the battle at Starkiller Base with an injured Finn (John Boyega), she is greeted and embraced by Leia with a hug. Fans have questioned this act however as it would make more sense for the General to hug and console Solo's lifelong partner Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), with whom she already has a relationship with.

"That was probably one of the mistakes I made in that," Abrams said to SlashFilm while discussing his upcoming project, 10 Cloverfield Lane. "My thinking at the time was that Chewbacca, despite the pain he was feeling, was focused on trying to save Finn and getting him taken care of. So I tried to have Chewbacca go off with him and focus on Rey, and then have Rey find Leia and Leia find Rey."

"The idea being that both of them being strong with the Force and never having met, would know about each other — that Leia would have been told about her beyond what we saw onscreen and Rey of course would have learned about Leia," he continued explaining how Leia could possibly know who Rey was beforehand. "And that reunion would be a meeting and a reunion all in one, and a sort of commiseration of their mutual loss."

Still, Abrams realizes that perhaps the scene could have been setup better to not show Chewbacca in the background."Had Chewbacca not been where he was, you probably wouldn't have thought of it. But because he was right there, passed by Leia, it felt almost like a slight, which was definitely not the intention," he concluded.

Rey, Leia and Chewbacca will all return when the sequel, Star Wars: Episode VIII arrives in theaters on Dec. 15. The Force Awakens will be released on home video on April 5.

Recently, Mark Hamill who portrays Luke Skywalker in the series, discussed his character's sexuality mentioning that "it is meant to be interpreted by the viewer."