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Lucasfilm has made the official announcement of the principal cast for Star Wars: Episode VII and included a photograph from what appears to be a table read of the script at Pinewood Studios.

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.

Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Director J.J. Abrams says, “We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18, 2015.

There we have it the new cast memembers:

John Boyega is best known for 2011′s Attack the Block. He is also set to be in 24: Live Another Day as Chris Tanner.

Daisy Ridley is a British television actress who is the most unknown member of the cast.

Adam Driver is most well known for the HBO series Girls. Interestingly he also worked with co-star Oscar Isaac in 2013′s Inside Llewyn Davis.

Oscar Isaac is a 34 year old Guatemalan born actor who starred in last year’s Inside Llewn Davis.

Andy Serkis is best known for his motion-capture acting for his role as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films as well as his role as Caesar in The Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Irish born 31-year old Domhnall Gleeson is probably best known as Bill Weasley from the final two Harry Potter films. He is set to star in the upcoming  Ex Machina which will also co-star Oscar Isaac.

The Swedish born 85-year old Max von Sydow has had a long and impressive acting career. Highlights including playing Father Merrin in The Exorcist and The Emperor Ming in Flash Gordon.

What are their roles?

We know that when J.J. Abrams brought Lawrence Kasdan on board Episode VII, changes were made to Michael Arndt’s script which was based on George Lucas’ outline. We have seen some casting calls for characters but just how much these characters may have changed between different versions of the script is not known. Below is my best guess based on what has been released publicly.

The Villain: Adam Driver

Variety reported in February that Adam Driver was close to signing on as the villain in Episode VII who is “in the vein of” Darth Vader.

The Female Lead (“Rachel”): Daisy Ridley

Casting Calls went out across the globe this past winter for a character with the working name of “Rachel.”

Seeking: Young woman to play 17-18 Years old. Must be beautiful, smart and athletic. Open to all ethnicities (including bi- and multi-racial). Must be 16 or over.

RACHEL:
Was quite young when she lost her parents. With no other family, she was forced to make her way alone in a tough, dangerous town. Now 17 she has become street smart and strong. She is able to take care of herself using humor and guts to get by.

Always a survivor, never a victim, she remains hopeful that she can move away from this harsh existence to a better life. She is always thinking of what she can do to move ahead.

As the only new female cast member announced it seems clear that Ms. Ridley is set to play the featured female role which was rumored to be the lead role in the film.

The Male Lead (“Thomas”): John Boyega

The same casting call that included Rachel also included a character known as Thomas. At age 22 Boyega is the closest of the male actors to the targeted age of this character.

Seeking: Young man to play 19-23 years old. Must be handsome, smart and athletic. Must be 18 or over.

THOMAS:
Has grown up without a father’s influence. Without the model of being a man, he doesn’t have the strongest sense of himself. Despite this, he is smart, capable and shows courage when it is needed. He can appreciate the absurdities in life and understands you can’t take life too seriously.

From here things get a bit murky. We have a casting call which was first posted by Bleeding Cool and another casting call from Acting-Auditions.org.

From Bleeding Cool:

“Late-teen female, independent, good sense of humour, fit.” My Pick: Daisy Ridley.

“Young twenty-something male, witty and smart, fit but not traditionally good looking.” My Pick: Domhnall Gleeson.

“A late twenty something male, fit, handsome and confident.” My Pick: John Boyega.

“Seventy-something male, with strong opinions and tough demeanour. Also doesn’ t need to be particularly fit.” My Pick: Max von Sydow.

“A second young female, also late teens, tough, smart and fit.” My Pick: Role possibly eliminated.

“Forty something male, fit, military type.” My Pick: Oscar Isaac.

“Thirty something male, intellectual. Apparently doesn’t need to be fit.” My Pick: Adam Driver.

From Acting-Auditions.org:

I bet this is the same character as the “Forty something male, fit, military type” who was listed in the Bleeding Cool story.

Disney casting directors have now issued a new casting call seeking a 35-45 year old military type male, who can pull of a character similar to Matt Damons character in the TriStar Pictures sci-fi thriller feature film “Elysium”.

Based on the revealed cast, Oscar Isaac seems like the best fit for this role and has the look to play older than his actual age.

I can’t wait until we learn more about the cast, the characters and the film. I would expect a huge presence and a title reveal this summer at San Diego Comic-Con.

SOURCE: StarWars.com