After the one announcement that Girls star Adam Driver would be one of the new faces of Star Wars: Episode VII, we all expected that official casting announcements would start coming piece by piece soon. This is not the case.
Instead, it has been decided to announce the ENTIRE cast in one fell swoop so you can all decide right away if you approve or dislike the choices that were made.
It’s most certainly an interesting cast with a nice mix of new and old, and you can see every name as well as an image of the cast reading the script together below.
First up is the returning stars. As expected for a long time now, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher will all reprise their roles as Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia. How big or small their roles will be in the new movie is not yet known. Joining them on the Star Wars veterans cast is Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, and Kenny Baker as R2-D2.
As for newcomers, Driver was more officially confirmed. He’ll be joined by another long-rumored name, John Boyega, who starred in 2011′s Attack the Block and will be seen in the upcoming 24: Live Another Day, newcomer Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis, Robin Hood), Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit), Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter, Dredd), and two-time Academy Award nominee Max von Sydow (The Exorcist, Minority Report).
Who these new actors will be playing specifically has not yet been revealed.
Of the big announcement director J.J. Abrams said:
Star Wars: Episode VII is written by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams, and produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Bryan Burk, and Abrams. Composer John Williams will also return for the film’s musical score.
The movie hits theaters on December 18, 2015.
Image [click for much larger version]
