R2-D2 helps honour cinematic poineer George Lucas at Kennedy Centre

However, the fan theory regarding Binks hit a brick wall this weekend as producer and Disney’s head Star Wars honcho Kathleen Kennedy declared, “Jar Jar is definitely not in the movie”, at a press conference for the new film.

John also teased a few other plot details, saying: “We have the First Order, led by Kylo Ren, then the Resistance – it’s the aftermath of the war and the beginning of the new war”. “‘Star Wars’ never had like insane violence or anything”, she said. Much like Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, Disney already has sequels and spin-off films in the pipeline, so it is easy to say that there may be some fans expecting an end-credits scene in Episode VII.

“There’s no way that I can imagine anything touching the magic of what he did”, Abrams said, “and yet we all did the best we could to make that happen”.

And with some of the most iconic villains in cinematic history, many have been wondering how Star Wars: The Force Awakens will live up to its predecessors when it comes to the bad guys.

Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who performed on stage, said that the Kennedy Awards “keeps away the darkness of fear, of terror, of hate, of violence”.

Steven Spielberg appeared in person to compare George to well-known inventors, saying, “He’s a pathfinder and a pioneer like (Thomas) Edison and (Alexander Graham) Bell and (Nikola) Tesla and (Steve) Jobs…”

As the crowd of Washington power brokers and Hollywood celebrities stood and applauded, Lucas waved from a balcony, wearing the event’s signature rainbow-coloured garland. She was honoured for her diverse and boundary-pushing career, including memorable stints on children’s television.

Moreno is one of a handful of artists to win an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony. Her compositions include The Loco-Motion, One Fine Day and I’m Into Something Good.