Star Wars: The Force Awakens Director on the Missing Luke Skywalker

There has been one big absence from all the trailers, posters, and merchandise released in advance of Star Wars: The Force Awakens--Luke Skywalker. Mark Hamill is definitely in the movie, but so far there has been virtually no sign of the original trilogy's main character. According to director JJ Abrams, this is an entirely deliberate part of the film's marketing.

Associated Press caught up with Abrams this week. When asked where Luke was, the filmmaker replied "These are good questions to be asking. I can't wait for you to find out the answer." While he was clearly reluctant to say more, Abrams did add that it was "no accident" that we hadn't seen Luke yet.

The director also spoke about the ongoing post-production of The Force Awakens. Although the film is due out in less than two months, work continues behind-the-scenes. "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," Abrams explained.

"We're in the editing room, working on the cut, just going over visual effects. We still have another scoring session with John Williams, who's a god when it comes to music.

"It's been an ongoing surreal experience, and I cannot wait for the movie to be out in the world."

The final trailer for The Force Awakens was released last week. While there is no Luke (apart from possibly his robotic hand), old favourites Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia are all in there, plus a host of new characters. Check it out here.

Meanwhile, on the latest episode of his Hollywood Babble On podcast, Clerks director Kevin Smith revealed that he had seen "a chunk" of the film, and described it as "spellbinding." "I saw a buddy of mine, a filmmaker friend, who is making this movie that is so f**king wonderful," he said, via Flickering Myth. "The only way I can describe this: it was like--not figuratively, literally--being transported to the fountain of youth. And having the fountain of youth taking me back to 1977. First time I saw a picture called Star Wars."

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on December 18, 2015.