Via Cinemablend.com:

While J.J. Abrams was the director of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he was far from the only filmmaker that was directly involved in the movie’s production. It turns out Steven Spielberg had some direct influence on the film as well. The director, who had a lot to do with getting J.J. Abrams the job directing The Force Awakens, also suggested a couple of minor tweaks to a pair of scenes in order to give them a little more punch. The first was an early scene where a TIE Fighter gets swallowed by the desert sands. On the new audio commentary for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Abrams explains:

“While this is a CG effect of the swallowing, this explosion was Steven Spielberg’s idea. He loved the idea that the thing get sucked into the sand and then… that!”

By “that” J.J. Abrams is referring to the explosion of sand that takes place once the craft is completely enveloped by the desert. Abrams talked about how the famous director influenced Star Wars: The Force Awakens as part of the new commentary on the Special Edition Box Set for the film. Apparently, this idea came during filming, because while the ship being swallowed is a CGI effect, the explosion is practical. The sand had been packed with explosives.

However, that wasn’t the only scene that Steven Spielberg got changed. Click here to read the full article.