Hypable attended Star Wars’ 2015 San Diego Comic-Con panel on Friday night, where The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams debuted new footage and gave attendees a big surprise.

Abrams kicked off the Star Wars Comic-Con panel by offering an update on The Force Awakens. “We have a cut of the movie — we’re doing fine-tuning,” he said. “To have the time to do it right is not a small thing.”

“There is nothing normal about any of what’s been happening,” when asked how the experience has been while making The Force Awakens.

Though Abrams wasn’t ready to drop a new trailer or share any scenes on Friday, Lucasfilm put together a wonderful behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Force Awakens. It had a heavy focus on the practical effects and offers several first looks, including a glimpse at Leia’s new outfit. Luckily for fans around the globe, Lucasfilm released the new featurette online after the panel ended:

Update: Watch highlights from the panel below thanks to this official video reel!

There are several great pieces in this preview, including appearances from many old friends (Harrison Ford!) as well as new ones (Simon Pegg!).

At the panel, Abrams showed his true fan boy colors while recalling a moment with composer John Williams. “I sat down with John Williams to show him scenes from a Star Wars movie that he hadn’t seen yet, that I directed,” he said humbly.

The director also explained their goal for The Force Awakens. “We wanted to tell a story that would make us feel, and would feel like a continuum of the story that George started.”

Special guests then began taking the stage one by one. First up were the characters representing the bright side of the Force: Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and Daisy Ridley. Later, the dark side appeared: Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, and Gwendoline Christie.

All of the actors had to be tight-lipped about their roles, but that didn’t stop them from telling great stories. John Boyega recalled a time when he took Harrison Ford to a London restaurant. “The waiter asks, ‘Are you Harrison Ford?,’ and Harrison replied, ‘I used to be.'” — This little story got big laughs from the audience.

Gwendoline Christie wouldn’t go into details about her character, but she said she was proud of the role. “I found it exciting that there was a female stormtrooper,” she said to applause from the audience.

With all of the new stars of the film out on stage, there were a few seats left remaining at the end of the table. Those spots were eventually filled by big surprises towards the end of the panel: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford all came out on stage to huge applause from the audience. Ford naturally received the biggest applause because it was his first public appearance since his plane crash earlier this year.

The first question to Ford was from the moderator about his condition. “I’m good,” he said, “my foot just walked here, [so] I’m good.”

When Ford was asked how it felt to be back on set he said, “It should’ve felt ridiculous. I will tell you that it felt great.” He got a little emotional talking about the original films, stating that they were truly the beginning of his film career.

Ford was asked about how he felt about rejoining the franchise and said, “The company was the right company, the director was the right director, and Larry wrote a great story. I was proud and grateful [to be a part of it again].”

The legendary actor said he was surprised when he read the script, and it made him excited about returning to the films. He, Hamill, and Fisher were all in good spirits — they joked around on stage and recited lines from the original films.

At the end of the panel came a surprise for the audience: J.J. Abrams invited everyone in Hall H to a special Star Wars concert down the road. Logistically, it was a remarkable feat — moving 6,500 Star Wars fans down the street to an entirely different venue seemed like an impossible task, but the studio and organizers pulled it off seamlessly. Unfortunately John Williams wasn’t there (he appeared in a quick video greeting), but it didn’t make the event any less magical.

Here’s a quick clip from the event in which Ford takes the stage. He pretends to use his lightsaber as a cane:

The evening ended with a fireworks display that could be seen from all around San Diego:

Other tidbits from the event:

– Kathleen Kennedy revealed that Gareth Edwards will begin shooting Rogue One in three weeks.

– A new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released this fall, according to Abrams.