The One Iconic Moment From Last Night's 'The Force Awakens' Premiere

Barry King/Getty Images
Barry King/Getty Images

Last night, Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered in Hollywood, putting months of feverish anticipation and wild speculation surrounding the franchise's seventh movie to rest. As one would expect, the red carpet was filled with the new performers who star in the movie -- Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac -- along with familiar faces like Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher. And because this is a Star Wars movie, there were, predictably, robots, too

Judging from photos taken at the event, it was like the Mos Eisley cantina of red-carpet gatherings. Some celebrities, such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson, chose to wear costumes. Some brought their kids. Rob Lowe, who also attended the Phantom Menace premiere in 1999, was back for more -- this guy is committed to Star Wars

But only one photo summed up the significance of the whole night.

Barry King/Getty Images

What exactly is going on here? On the surface of things, J.J. Abrams is waving at fans and George Lucas is looking a little bit befuddled. But, on a larger metaphoric level, this is the final passing of the torch, the moment when the series ceases to be the brain-child of a young USC grad and officially becomes the property of J.J. Abrams and the Walt Disney company.

So, what exactly did these two say to each other on the red carpet in this brief Lost In Translation moment. Did Lucas tell Abrams that he wanted the droids back? Did Abrams tell Lucas he should’ve worn a tie? Or, as the jocular nature of this photo suggests, are things all good between these two?

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Dan Jackson is a staff writer at Thrillist and is remaining cautiously optimistic for this movie. Find her on Twitter @danielvjackson.