Thoughts on the Star Wars cast
Star Wars.com has announced the cast of Star Wars Episode VII. The list includes names we all expected: Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker. It also added 7 new names.
The Seven New Actors
First, I have to say that I don't think it is a coincidence that the announced seven new actors. This feels like a calculated JJ Abrams decision. Seven new actors for the seventh film. So who are the seven new actors?
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Predictions
Since Andy Serkis is in the movie, I think it is fairly safe to say he will be playing at least one animated CG character. If this were the movie I had hoped it would be, I would say that he would be playing the Noghri, but I doubt that is going to happen. I presume he will play a number of characters.
Daisy Ridley will most likely play the daughter of Princess Leia and Han Solo, who presumably will be called Jaina, but I think that that is a little bit too much to hope for.
Adam Driver Would make a very interesting Jacen Solo, however it is more likely that he will be playing in Imperial officer. I would love to hope for Thrawn, especially since Max von Sydow would make a great Jorus C'baoth, but he is more likely to play a Moff or a ghostly Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Domhnall Gleeson Is my front runner to play Ben Skywalker or whatever they decided to name Luke's son, or if the rumors are true Obi-Wan's son.
Oscar Isaac will likely play a storm trooper or Mandolorian.
Excited, I am not
I cannot get past the fact the JJ Abrams is directing and writing this movie. He demonstrated with the Star Trek films that he is incapable of honoring the legacy of a franchise. I hold out hopes that Disney will force a decent film out of him.
It is also more than a little suspicious that they will not be releasing the film until December 18, 2015. This is a giant red flag. Every Star Wars film with the exception of the animated Clone Wars was released in May. They were summer blockbuster films. This date tells me that the studio is unsure how audiences will react to episode VII.
By releasing the film in December, they are hedging their bet that the film will debut at number 1 its opening weekend. Anything less than the top slot would be perceived as a failure and a bad omen for the sequel series.