Suvudu Universe

Dunc over at Club Jade did some great reporting and news aggregation about a new rumored casting call coming out of the United Kingdom for Star Wars: Episode VII. I won’t re-hash Dunc’s article except for the fact that the casting call originated from a source named Claire Curry(@UKOpenCall) who appears to be a UK-based casting agent.

The casting call in question (above) refers to a “Disney Film” and does not specifically mention Star Wars: Episode VII.

It includes the following general descriptions and character descriptions:

SEEKING YOUNG WOMAN TO PLAY 17-18 YEAR OLD. MUST BE BEAUTIFUL, SMART AND ATHLETIC. OPEN TO ALL ETHNICTIES (INCLUDING BI AND MULTI RACIAL) MUST BE OVER 16

RACHEL-WAS QUITE YOUNG WHEN SHE LOST HER PARENTS. WITH NO OTHER FAMILY SHE WAS FORCED TO MAKE HER WAY 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.

SEEKING: YOUNG MAN TO PLAY 19-23 YEARS OLD. MUST BE HANDSOME, SMART AND ATHLETIC. MUST BE OVER 18.

THOMAS-HAS GROWN UP WITHOUT A FATHERS 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.

These character casting calls seem to echo the earlier less fleshed out ones we have already seen. The earlier casting call which was confirmed by Lucasfilm mentioned two characters which could be the same as those listed above:

Late-teen female, independent, good sense of humour, fit.

Young twenty-something male, witty and smart, fit but not traditionally good looking.

It also fits with the New York casting call that was reported in September:

[YOUNG MAN] Early 20s. Handsome, but not necessarily heroic. He is witty and smart. Physically fit.
[YOUNG WOMAN] Late teens. Physically fit, raw energy, independent and with a great sense of humor.

Assuming this casting call is legitimate what can we learn from this news?

1) Still Looking for Leads:

It appears that J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and their casting director have not been able to find their lead actress and actor. It occurs to me that the wit and humor that they may be looking for in these characters combined with the other attributes listed may be the biggest challenge for them.

2) Accents:

In Star Wars the British accent was the voice of galactic culture, originating in the Core Worlds and being imitated by those who wished to belong to the elite of society. The American accent was the accent of the frontiers, the Outer Rim and the scoundrels.

It is very common for British actors and actresses to imitate American accents on the screen, but less so for their American counterparts. The fact that they were casting in New York for these roles as well as in Britain leads me to think that these characters will adopt more of an American accent which may give us a clue to their origins and relationships in the film.

3) Names:

I am 100% sure these names are simply placeholders. So I wouldn’t get to far ahead of ourselves in discussing how Rachel and Thomas fit into the Solo and Skywalker family tree just yet.

4) Characterization of Rachel:

Of Rachel we learn that she is 17 years old and was orphaned at an early age. This forced her to fend for herself and navigate a dangerous environment. This upbringing resulted in an individual who is street smart, strong, guts, and motivated to improve her station in life. Instead of becoming jaded by the hand of sabacc cards that life has dealt her she has maintained a sense of humor and uses it to her advantage to survive.

The casting call makes it very clear that Rachel has not been victimized despite her harsh childhood. She is a survivor of her rough beginnings but not of some deep physical or psychological trauma that could have occurred to her given the situation she grew up in.

This reminds me a lot of he young Han Solo that we met in the Han Solo trilogy of novels by A.C. Crispin. The difference being that Han was more victimized because of his forced participation into crime at the hands of Garris Shrike.

There are any number of “towns” in the Star Wars universe that Rachel’s childhood could be set in, but I will hold out hope that it was Nar Shaddaa because, well Nar Shaddaa is just plain awesome.

Of course if Rachel is from back alleys of Corellia it could create an interesting story dynamic and link between her and Han. Giving Han a link to the new set of main characters based on his sense of Corellian identity instead of having the main characters being biologically related to the big three would be an interesting way to approach it.

The fact that Rachel has thus far gotten by with her humor and her guts, suggests to me that her challenge in the film will be in a situation where neither humor or courage will be enough, she will either have to learn new skills or learn to work cooperatively to overcome the antagonist. This could lead to Jedi training or some other kind of skill development entirely, but I think it will be important that we see this character seriously fail for the first time and have to come to terms with that failure.

5) Characterization of Thomas:

The lack of parentage or failure of paternal figures is hardly a new theme in Star Wars and with Thomas we have a similar issue to Rachel.

From the casting call we learn that while he is older Thomas is probably more immature than Rachel. He grew up without a father figure and by implication was raised by a mother or female figures. This contrasts with Rachel’s origins as an orphan, but perhaps gives them some common ground to bond over.

Thomas doesn’t really know who he is yet, while he is smart and able to handle himself, he seems more passive than Rachel. Thomas is capable of showing courage, but only “when it is needed.” I read that as meaning he will stand up if pushed but not without some form of external motivation.

The final line of Thomas description deals with his sense of humor, the ability to “appreciate the absurdities in life” and the ability not to take life too seriously, speak to his sense of humor but I think they also point to Thomas’ relationship to Rachel. Thomas won’t be especially funny, but he will be there to appreciate Rachel’s humor and to return the clever quip now and then.

Based on these two descriptions I think it is easy to imagine how these two characters fit on-screen playing off of each other. It is also easy to see some similarities in terms of strength between Rachel and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games series. Perhaps not coincidentally Michael Arndt who is responsible for the early screenplay on Episode VII also wrote the new film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (due out November 22, 2013). Perhaps Arndt’s handling of a strong, young female lead character in his drafts of Catching Fire contributed more to his landing the Episode VII job than his work on Little Miss Sunshine did.

SOURCE: @UKOpenCall, BBC, and Bleeding Cool via Club Jade and TFN