Disney made an official announcement today about the cast of the much anticipated Star Wars sequel that is due out next December, releasing the names of the principal actors and actresses that will be featured in the J.J. Abrams film. Cue extreme excitement…
The film, which will begin shooting in May, will feature John Boyega (Attack the Block), newcomer Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver (“Girls”), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), and Max von Sydow (Minority Report). These folks will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the sequel. John Williams will also be returning to the galaxy as composer.
It’s hard not to get really excited about this development. Not only do the trades all suggest that Han Solo will have a large role (and one would hope that Ford brings a bit more effort to the role than he did with Indiana Jones and the Sequel We All Choose To Ignore) but having the main three actors from the original trilogy here is fantastic. I say there’s a good chance that we only see them for Episode 7 and that their stories will close off and we will continue to follow these new characters through future movies. That being said, I love the addition of Boyega. He was awesome in Attack the Block, which was a surprisingly entertaining film (cue a whole bunch of Star Wars geeks claiming to have seen this in theaters – you didn’t, it’s okay) and it’s good to see relative newcomers like him and Daisy Ridley, who I have no prior knowledge of, get meaty roles in the flick. Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac, both featured in Inside Llewyn Davis (where they sang a song together where they say “please don’t shoot me into outer space”!) are also young actors who could use this as a spring board to bigger careers. And Max von Sydow is always awesome and if he isn’t some sort of old senator or villainous Sith, then I don’t know what to say.
But let’s get to Andy Effin’ Serkis… Are you kidding me?!? How awesome is that!?! This guy is literally the best physical actor working today. Whether he is going to be CGIed into the film like he is as Cesar in the new Planet of the Apes films or he was in Peter Jackson’s King Kong and Lord of the Rings or he’s just made-up into one scary-ass Sith, this is a fantastic addition to the series. Even detractors of Abrams’ work on the new Star Trek films have to admit that he has a knack for casting and I have no problems with any of these choices. I trust Abrams whole-heartedly. And I think you should too.
But what about you? Are you unsure about the “old fogeys” getting such a prominent position in the film? (You shouldn’t be) Should they have gotten bigger names? (Definitely not) Or are you just nit-picking? (Undoubtedly)
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