Star Wars Episode VII cast revealed!

It is a few days before the expected May the 4th announcement, but we do have an official rock-solid casting announcement for Star Wars Episode VII as well as a photo.

Our initial casting announcement for the upcoming continuation of the Star Wars saga includes:

Harrison Ford
Carrie Fisher
Mark Hamill
Anthony Daniels
Kenny Baker
Peter Mayhew
John Boyega
Daisy Ridley
Oscar Isaac
Adam Driver
Andy Serkis
Domhnall Gleeson
Max von Sydow


You may recognize the first six names as they are Star Wars veterans. Ford is reprising the role of Han Solo, Fisher is reprising Leia Organa, Hamill returns to Luke Skywalker, Mayhew will don the Chewbacca suit again, Anthony Daniels will come back as C-3PO, and Baker will go "back in the can" as R2-D2. It has been rumored for months that these actors would be reprising these roles, so it is a rather welcome confirmation.
The new faces have yet to have any roles attached to them, but there is a lot of speculation that the leads have gone to John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. It was already previously "confirmed" that Adam Driver would be playing a villain so that is pretty much set. As for Oscar Isaac, it is a toss up as he can easily portray a protagonist or a villain. It is also expected that Andy Serkis will be in a motion capture suit. He has been praised as the best motion capture actor of the modern film age, so it would be a bit silly to utilize him in anything else. All I ask is that he isn't a Gungan. Let's just hope the Gungans are extinct by now.
You might recognize Boyega from Attack the Block (if you saw it) and Imperial Dreams. Isaac recently starred in Inside Llewyn Davis and is also known for Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch.  Adam Driver is known from the HBO series Girls as well as Inside Llewyn Davis. Andy Serkis, of course, is known for The Lord of the Rings saga as well as the new Planet of the Apes films.

Now, keep in mind that this is just the initial announcement. I am positive we will slowly be receiving more casting news and other information about characters in the following weeks. J.J. Abrams mentioned in the announcement that filming starts in a few weeks.

Just for fun, here are some names that did not show up in this announcement. I am not completely ruling anyone out just yet.

Benedict Cumberbatch
Zac Efron
Jesse Plemons
Lupita Nyong'o
Hugo Weaving
Miles Teller
Gary Oldman
Saoirse Ronan
Alex Pettyfer
Michael Fassbender

Honestly, the list goes on. Practically every actor on the planet read for this movie. The interesting thing for me is the fact that we have no kids yet. Each announced actor so far is over the age of 21. Either way, we will find out soon. Star Wars Episode VII is set for theaters on December 18, 2015.

Star Wars Episode VII casting shortlist narrowed down

We still don't have any official casting news for Star Wars Episode VII, other than Adam Driver apparently being cast as the villain, but rumor has it the shortlist for the highly coveted male lead has been narrowed down to five actors. This list includes Jesse Plemons, John Boyega, and Ed Speleers. Some lists also include theater actors Matthew James Thomas and Ray Fisher.

You might not recognize any of these guys except for Jesse Plemons who gained a rather cult following due to his role as Todd on Breaking Bad. I recognize all of them except for the theater guys simply because I've seen both Attack the Block and Eragon. Boyega hasn't been in anything too mainstream since Attack the Block while Speleers has been a series regular on the award winning series Downton Abbey since 2012. Either way, we should hear official news on Episode VII soon as production is set to begin in May and go through September.  It is currently set for theatrical release on December 18, 2015.

Adam Driver nearing deal for Star Wars: Episode VII

Adam Driver (Girls) is apparently nearing a deal for the main antagonist (aka, villain) in Star Wars: Episode VII. There are no details on exactly who or what this villain is, or if this is even true, but it is assumed to be similar to Darth Vader.
If this is true, Driver will have beaten out the competition of actors like Michael Fassbender and Hugo Weaving for this role. He is currently a series regular on the HBO show Girls, so his schedule makes time for multiple Star Wars installments.