Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie of Game of Thrones fame are an exciting addition an already interesting looking cast. Every actor that has been announced so far has either seemed to bring something that is an instant fit for the Star Wars universe - like Christie, Max Von Sydow and Andy Serkis (more on those guys later) or can be perceived as bringing something fresh - like Nyong'o, John Boyega, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac. Daisy Ridley is somewhat of an unknown quantity but looks the part of playing a Solo/Skywalker and Domhnall Gleason brings his Harry Potter experience to add to the modern fantasy saga credentials of Christie and Serkis. It would be a finely assembled cast even if it didn't also feature the original fraternity, speaking of which...
13. The Old Cast
Even the omission of Billy Dee Williams Lando cannot dampen the enthusiasm that has greeted the idea of seeing Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill on screen together again, and equally as exciting for Star Wars fans is the return of Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker, all of whom bring an authenticity to the project by their very presence. There is a strong feeling that Lando fans wont be disappointed for too long also, with it making sense to mirror the characters debut in The Empire Strikes Back by reintroducing him in Episode VIII. An appearance on Jimmy Kimmel with Billy Dee as a stooge in the crowd also suggests he's spoken to J.J. and he'll be in the mix some time. These characters are some of the most defining in popular history and being returned to us in a form we can't yet imagine, after it had been long-implied by their original creator that they never would. It feel like we're entering new territory here, and with X-Men: DoFP demonstrating that two old and new ensemble casts can be combined without it resulting in an unwieldy tale. The casting across the board both old and new is inspiring confidence and one of the factors central to why a strong buzz continues to surround the project. There is still a teeny bit of "but what about The Phantom Menace?" floating around but it will continue to fade as we continue to see snippets of things like the full scale Millennium Falcon and X-Wing being built, and eventually official images.
As well as the odd article, I apply my "special mind" to scriptwriting for Comics, Films and Games... Oh and I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flow'rs, I put on women's clothing, and hang around in bars.
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