Kevin Smith Says He ‘Wept On Set’ At The Scope Of ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’

When it comes to all things geek, filmmaker and comedian Kevin Smith is usually one of the first people to say his peace when given the chance. Recently, he spoke about the sheer power of Marvel’s upcoming Captain Marvel in terms of defeating Avengers: Infinity War‘s villain Thanos, and why he thinks Jon Hamm is the perfect person to play Batman in a new movie. During his appearance on Wednesday’s Good Morning America, however, Smith spilled the beans about his recent visit to the set of Star Wars: Episode IX.

Directed by J.J. Abrams, who helmed 2015’s The Force Awakens, the final film of the new Star Wars trilogy is currently filming in London. “They make you sign so many non-disclosure agreements that if I said anything, somebody would pop out with a lightsaber and cut my hand off,” joked Smith, who added that we was probably going to get in trouble for speaking out. Yet speak out he did, and what he saw on set was so wonderful that it made him weep:

“J.J.’s doing the lord’s work. This movie looks fantastic. It’s a year away, but man, it looks fantastic. I wept on set because I saw somebody give a career-best performance. Somebody I’ve seen in these movies before. I rolled a tear, it was so darn powerful. Biggest set I’ve ever seen in my life. The dude’s not directing a movie. It’s like he’s directing a small country.”

Smith also said that he got to see Abrams and company film two scenes, one of which was filled with pertinent “plot details.” That, however, was the moment when the filmmaker decided to change the subject and avoid saying anything else about his visit to the Episode IX set… probably because a lightsaber had been silently lit offscreen in the GMA studio.