StarWars.com has announced the official cast for Episode VII. Star Wars alumni Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker will be joined by John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow.
That is… A lot of guys. Sigh. The Wrap has a bit more on our new lady, Daisy Ridley, while The Hollywood Reporter has a breakdown of all the new-to-us folks.
And that second new female role? They may still be looking, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Where’s Billy Dee? Lando needs to eat!
Domhnall Gleason is a ginger.
Ugh. Just realized I’m going to have to check my spelling on his last name every damned time. Whoops.
Cool! I’m happy that they didn’t pick people who are already BIG stars. And Andy Serkis, who is a big name guy, but he doesn’t use his own face very often. I, for one, am not a fan of the same people turning up in every franchise, and the rumor mill over the past few months has been brutal.
Looks like Daisy Ridley is seated between Ford and Fisher. Could that be a hint she will be Han and Leia’s daughter? And is Gleeson seated next to Hamill? Is that a sign he could he be Luke’s son?
And given the LFL statement about the EU and elements of it being fully available for all new canon works, could they be Jaina Solo and Ben Skywalker?
I’m really interested to find out exactly who Max von Sydow will be.
I believe he is sitting next to Hamill – would that make him Luke’s son? I’m drawing this conclusion since Ridley is seated between Ford and Fisher and she could pass for Han and Leia’s daughter. I think that seating here is deliberate.
Something tells me that some EU characters will have survived (if not their previous adventures and stories, at least their names and physical attributes.)
Gleeson as Luke’s son and he has red hair. How long before people peg him as playing Ben Skywalker, son of Luke and his late wife Mara Jade?
And will we learn that Ridley will be playing a character named Jaina Solo?
Again, I’m just going by what LFL’s official statement on the EU is — none of those stories are canon, but everything in the EU is open for new content creators to use as they see fit in canon.
Domhnall is sitting next to Anthony Daniels.
I just saw that. But, the three in a row are Hamill, Daniels and Gleeson, so he’s on the “Skywalker” side.
I wonder if Max von Sydow is a good guy or a bad guy….and Riley, going on Dancing With the Stars, I doubt Billy Dee could stay awake or walk far enough to play Lando again. The man’s had his hips replaced and he looks his age and then some.
You think Lando can’t afford a hoveround? ;)
I think it’s pretty safe to assume that von Sydow will play the role originally envisioned for John Noble. Who was allegedly planned to be a former imperial out for vengeance against the Big Three.
So now everyone is going to construct the story based on the previous things the unknowns have done.
This is going to be fun!
Double SIGH… That is a lot of White guys
I like the actor’s I’m familiar with, but this does seem to make it official that after decades grooming Jaina as a worthy protagonist, they’re pushing the female characters to the back again.
I could see Adam Driver as Jacen, but if Daisy Ridley is Jaina, she doesn’t seem to have a twin, and if Ben is a main, he’s now the older one.
I am glad to see that the cast isn’t entirely Anglo-Saxon. Here’s hoping that Billy Dee or other characters like Mara, Winter, Corran etc make an appearance, even if they aren’t “main cast”.
Example: If Mara is still dead in this canon, they could reference Ben’s mother enough for new fans to get the idea, make Luke the thematically appropriate hermit through grief, and set the stage for stand alone Mara films set before the ST without having to cast her years in advance.
<> Maybe they’re all puppystomping villains, so it’s okay?
Oh, Pablo.
*snicker*
I’m happy with the cast! I know this may be an unpopular thing to say here, but I don’t really care about meeting certain quotas of different sexes or ethnic groups. All I care about is the quality of the story and acting ability.
*Cough* Argument four *cough*
http://tosche-station.net/deconstructing-four-arguments-diversity-teenage-self-guilty-using/
I respectfully disagree with your opinion. That article presupposes that “either you want good stories and characters, or you want diverse stories and characters” which is simply not the case for me. I want good stories & characters regardless of what gender/race/religion/sexual orientation the actors are. The cast could be made up of nothing but blind black midget lesbians and it wouldn’t make a difference if it was well written & acted. I mean it’d take a helluva script to explain why Luke is suddenly a blink black midge female, but if anyone could do it I’m sure JJ could!
Speaking of, keep in mind that JJ is also the guy that create Felicity, ALIAS, Fringe, and wanted Kate as the main character in LOST. He knows how to create strong female leads. Don’t be surprised if Ridley’s character is the Anakin/Luke of this trilogy.
The point is exactly that, and it’s addressed in the linked article if I remember.
There’s nothing forcing a choice between good stories and diverse stories, so there’s no excuse not to aim for both.
@Graaf (since I can’t reply directly):
What if two people, say a man and a woman, auditioned for a non-gender specific character. Of the two, the man had the much better audition. Should they instead hire the woman just to meet a diversity quota, basically “affirmative action”? (I’m not trying to be purposefully argumentative, I’m honestly curious what your opinion is.)
J.J. is also the man behind the trainwreck that was Star Trek Into Darkness. His record is spotty. Additionally, quality of minority/female characters is important, but so is quantity. Ridley could have a Katniss-grade role but that doesn’t make up for how predominantly white and male this cast is.
You can disagree all you want, but the subtext of saying “All that matters are good stories and characters” is that you, deep down, believe that good stories/characters and diverse representation are mutually exclusive. Worse, you’re telling people who are underrepresented that their needs and desires don’t matter. That’s a really cruel thing to say.
I posit that consciously reaching for better representation IS a good thing, because it forces critical examinations of your characters. Does this character really need to be [x]? What if you change that to [y]? You can try and strawman that away with the most radical scenarios imaginable (which you appear to have done with your out-of-left-field recasting Luke example), but that doesn’t change the fact that this sort of critical examination is not a bad thing.
I like how you’re telling me what I think and believe. That’s awesome.
Anyway, I’m done here. Enjoy the movie, or don’t. Doesn’t matter to me.
Sigh. Help me, Daisy Ridley, you’re my only hope…
I’m not usually one to jump on this stuff, but no Billy Dee? One black guy? Tons of white GUYS? Seriously, why? Why…
There’s no one there that could be Mara by any stretch of the imagination.
There wasn’t in the casting, either. The only thing that would fit the character is that stupid rumor about them recasting Leia, so ::shrug::
I’m so hoping Domhnall Gleeson is playing Ben Skywalker. I loved him in the novels and having Ben (and Jaina, too, I hope) in the picture would be a great win in light of the EU getting the axe.
Also, though I’d love to have had Mara in the film, if we do have Ben, maybe this points to Mara getting in the new canon via a spinoff film or television series? I’d take that.