J.J. Abrams has finally addressed why Luke Skywalker is nowhere to be seen in the promotional campaign for "The Force Awakens."

During an interview the Associated Press, Abrams was asked directly about Luke. The director noted that it was no accident that the iconic character has been missing from promos.

Abrams said, "These are good questions to be asking. I can't wait for you to find out the answer."

Luke's apparent absence from trailers for the film seems to suggest that he will not play a major role. It could also confirm rumors that the Jedi knight will only appear at the end of the film.

However, Mark Hamill has been promoting the film for the last year, and he was also in a promotional video that was released in the summer during the D23 convention.

During the interview, Abrams also noted that post-production on the film has not been completed and that it is still an ongoing process.

"The visual effects process goes on for so long, that my guess is that we'll probably be doing visual effects for the next three or four weeks, even though the cut will be done before then," he said.

An interesting thing to note about this particular statement is that it implies there will be more CGI than Disney or Abrams would like to admit. One of the main messages of the marketing campaign for the film has been to talk about "practical effects" over computer graphics. It appears that there are plenty of computer graphics after all, with the latest trailer also supporting this notion.

Abrams also said the film has not been scored completely. There are still some sessions left with John Williams.

"The Force Awakens" is one of the most anticipated films of the year. Last week, the final trailer for the film was released, and it broke viewing records. The film also started selling tickets and has already made over $6.5 million in pre-sales. Box office estimates suggest that the film will top the opening weekend of all time when it opens, likely making over $700 million by the time its run finishes.

"Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" opens on Dec. 18, 2015.

Related