Just when they thought The First Order was the most threatening thing to strike back since the Empire, the production company behind Star Wars has been hit with criminal charges from the Health and Safety Executive over Harrison Ford's leg injury on the set of The Force Awakens.
The company in question is Foodles Production (UK) Ltd, a legal subsidiary of Disney and formed to handle legal and financial issues such as this. The Health And Safety Executive has brought four criminal charges relating to the incident in June 2014 when a hydraulic metal door on the Millennium Falcon set in Pinewood fell on Ford's leg, breaking it. He was airlifted to hospital for surgery and has made a full recovery, but the HSE sees the production company as liable for not maintaining proper level of protection for workers (and, presumably Wookiees) on the set.
Representatives of Foodles have been summoned to appear at the less-than-galactic-sounding High Wycombe Magistrates Court on May 12. Foodles released a statement on the matter carried by the BBC: "Cast and crew safety is always a top priority. We provided full co-operation during HSE's investigation into the on-set accident that occurred in June 2014 and are disappointed in HSE's decision."
But there are bigger issues at heart here. Sure, the health and safety team picked up on this, but what about the handrails at the side of walkways on Starkiller Base? To say nothing of (spoiler alert) lightsaber handling issues.
Pinewood remains home to the Star Wars team, and Episode VIII has now kicked off shooting at the studio.