8 Biggest Movie And TV News This Week (May 3)

By James Garcia /

1. Star Wars: Episode VII Cast Revealed

Ever since Disney bought Lucasfilm last year for the price of $4 billion, we've been on the edge of our seats, waiting for any bit of information about the forthcoming new trilogy and subsequent spinoffs. There have been far more rumors than actual announcements, but luckily we finally got something that made upf for it: the announcement of the cast for Star Wars: Episode VII. As it turns out, only a few of the rumors were true, as it looks like JJ Abrams has filled his cast with relative unknowns, as well as returning stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew. New additions to the galaxy far, far away are John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Silent Witness, Blue Season), Adam Driver (Girls, Inside Llewyn Davis), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Andy Serkis (LOTR, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, About Time), and Max von Sydow (The Exorcist). Here's the official press release:

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

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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, andKenny Baker in the new film.

Director J.J. Abrams says, €œWe 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.€

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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.

That's it for this week's news brief! What a week, eh? Tell us, are you excited about this news? Are you satisfied with the cast for Star Wars Episode VII, and excited about a Zack Snyder Justice League? How about Matt Smith joining Terminator Genesis, or that Elvis Biopic? Let us know in the comments below, and follow me on Twitter for more news stories as they develop!