Lucasfilm and Disney decided to give all the Star Wars fans a gift today with the above photo and casting announcement that followed. The above photo is the principal cast of Episode VII coming together for a table reading of the script earlier today in London. Table readings like this are pretty common place in the industry and it probably shouldn't be a surprise this announcement came before they begin principal photography in two weeks.
Here is the cast in no particular order:
John Boyega
Daisy Ridley
Oscar Issac
Max Von Sydow
Peter Mayhew
Harrison Ford
Carrie Fisher
Mark Hamill
Kenny Baker
Anthony Daniels
Adam Driver
Andy Serkis
Domhnall Gleeson
First off let me say that it looks from top to bottom to be a pretty good cast overall. There is no one really on that list that I would raise objections to or would have concerns with going forward. No, it is a good group of actors. But JJ always casts his movies well.
I am very pleased to see John Boyega listed here. I really liked his work in Attack the Block and feel he has a very charismatic presence about him that will lend itself well to being in a lead role here. But beyond him being a promising young actor, his casting as the lead indicates that this Star Wars trilogy is willing to do things a bit differently. I find it exciting frankly to have a black male be the lead character in this new film. I know they had black characters in supporting roles in the previous two trilogies. But there has never been one in the lead.
I know very little about Daisy Ridley overall. I understand that she has some theater experience but very little film experience. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing and I don't think her lack of experience should cause concern for anyone who cares about such things. I think her performance in this really comes down to, as it does for any actor, what she puts into the role and how good the writing is. That really is the key to any good performance. I will say this as an aside, I do believe Miss Ridley will be playing the daughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa. She looks like she could be their offspring and her seating position between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher in the above photo is highly interesting.
Andy Serkis! Gollum is in Star Wars. His casting means that there will be a motion capture character in this new trilogy. I know some have made the argument that Serkis could be used as himself for a role, but I just find that highly unlikely. You don't hire one of the best motion capture actors in the industry and not use him in a motion capture role. No, Serkis will be wearing a motion capture suit when filming begins. And with that let the speculation begin on what alien species he is playing in this.
I love that Max Von Sydow is going to be in this cast. Although I have no idea at all what character he might be playing here. Would he be a Sith Lord? Or perhaps an elderly Jedi Knight? Could he be the new Supreme Chancellor? My money at this point is on Sith Lord. I think somehow they are going to have him play the secret apprentice of Palpatine or Vader before they both died. It is a good way to tie the threat in this new film to the original trilogy in a way that seems organic.
It fills me with joy to see Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, and Kenny Baker there on that list. I know or have read that Mayhew is not in good health. I hope he is able to be involved in this new trilogy all the way through to the end. He really is a class act in my opinion. I had the chance to meet him at WizardCon in Chicago several years back and he was very kind to myself and my group of friends at the time. I am glad to see him back.
This is shaping up to be a good foundation to build off of for Episode VII. I still have deep concerns about the quality of the screenplay for this and I also have doubts JJ Abrams can really deliver a good film. But I can say that the cast will not be something that will be a problem with Episode VII.
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