Episode VII cast announced! (Updated)

Wow, OK! Big news… The Episode VII cast has been announced!

John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver (Inside Llewyn Davis, Lincoln), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis, Drive), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Max von Sydow (The Seventh Seal, Flash Gordon), Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker will all be in Episode VII! (Update: The Hollywood Reporter claims that another female lead has yet to be cast.)

This is incredible. Firstly, Max von Sydow is the biggest revelation here—he’s never been rumoured for this film and yet he’s one of the most legendary actors alive today. I cannot emphasise this enough: the man’s stature is monumental. And who is he playing? I assume it’s a villain, but either way, this is exciting stuff.

Secondly, we have Han, Leia and Luke returning, but also C-3PO, Chewbacca and R2-D2 (played by Kenny Baker, no less!) all implicitly confirmed. The rumours of the “Big 3” returning have been circulating for a long time, but if you really stop and think about this, the news is extraordinary. Until October 2012, I never expected to see Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher back again as Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, but having Harrison Ford back as Han Solo is really something that ten years ago would have seemed like pure fantasy.

Thirdly, we have Andy Serkis—Gollum, Caesar, Kong!—joining the cast. Again, his announcement is totally out of the blue and one would have to assume he’s playing a mo-capped character of some kind. He brings CGI characters to life like no one else.

Finally, we have Daisy Ridley, She’s not on anyone’s radar but she looks like the perfect candidate to play a Solo offspring.

Below is the cast: some old, some new. Suddenly Episode VII seems incredibly real…

First row: Peter Mayhew and Harrison Ford as Chewbacca and Han Solo respectively, John Boyega, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa and Daisy Ridley. Second row: Adam Driver, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson. Third row: Andy Serkis, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Kenny Baker as R2-D2 and Max von Sydow.