Talking 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' (Without Seeing the Film)

With the long-awaited and increasingly hyped sequel to one of the most successful movie franchises of all time, the desperate desire for any information about anything related to "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is at an all-time high. With the film just days away from opening and with press not given access to watching the film, the studio's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens Press Conference" was a bit of a head-scratcher.

With no screenings prior to the conference, journalists were left to ask generic questions that the cast and crew could only answer vaguely; which must be frustrating for them. While it's admirable that Lucasfilm and Disney want to keep things secret so that fans can have a fresh experience, that leaves any sort of new reveals few and far between. Even with (currently) eighteen TV trailer spots making the rounds, new footage still appears but in mere fragments that give audiences not much more information than they had when the official trailer was revealed earlier this fall.

But again, we can't complain when the powers-that-be want to keep the integrity and mystery alive right up until the release date. With enough industry folks revealing they have seen it and they like it (Steven Spielberg, Kevin Smith, the actors) this is enough to satiate fans and whet their appetites for the night of the 17th when the film opens nationwide.

So what did the cast and crew reveal in the two-hour press conference? Well, it might have been ambiguous and the actors might have tip-toed around a lot, but with actress/comedian Mindy Kaling as moderator, it was still fun, surprising, and oftentimes hilarious. (Carrie Fisher was there so we expect nothing less.)

So I could sit here and write out the most popular highlights and summarize the most interesting responses, but really, that would take away from the sly asides Fisher kept throwing out, or the spontaneous musical number by "Game of Thrones" Gwendolyn Christie and hottie Oscar Isaac. So below are segments from the entire press conference which include both familiar faces and new. Still conspicuously absent from the ad campaign is Mark Hamill, whose presence in the film is such a secret that theories continuously abound. (My vote is he actually "IS" on the poster, but not in the way we might expect.)

So without further ado, here is the entire press conference with some summaries of content so you can pick and choose the moments you want to see.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" opens officially December 18, 2015, with early screenings beginning the night of the 17.

Press conference, part one

Highlights: