Star Wars Episode 7 Cast Announced With Familiar Faces Back in Original Roles

Did you feel a great disturbance in The Force last week? As if millions of voices cried out? I did!

The picture below made its way around the world at hyper speed after the long-awaited news broke about who would be making up the cast for the next movie in the industry’s most beloved film franchise: Star Wars.

Star Wars Episode VII Cast Announced.
April 29th, Pinewood Studios, UK – Writer/Director/Producer J.J Abrams (top center right) at the cast read-through of Star Wars Episode VII at Pinewood Studios with (clockwise from right) Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Producer Bryan Burk, Lucasfilm President and Producer Kathleen Kennedy, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Andy Serkis, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Adam Driver and Writer Lawrence Kasdan. Copyright and Photo Credit: David James.

J.J. Abrams (Super 8) will be directing the next installment of the inter galactic film, Star Wars Episode VII, but according to reports he is not quite finished with casting. There’s one major female role still open. However, after the nine-month process, the more notable news for die-hard fans of the original films was confirmation that Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher will return for this new movie.

Hard to fathom that it’s been 37 years since the first Star Wars film made it’s debut in 1977!

Mark Hamill and Suzette Valle Comic-Con 2012. Photo S. Valle.

A closer look at the aging stars of the original trilogy is about the only clue to this franchise’s age. The photo above is a case in point. Mark Hamill and I chatted for quite a while at Comic-Con 2012  in San Diego when he was here helping Stan Lee promote their new YouTube Channel: World of Heroes. But judging by the recent cast photo taken at Pinewood Studios in the UK, Hamill looks rejuvenated! (Now, if something could be done about Harrison Ford’s earring…)

The nostalgia surrounding Star Wars has been curated over the years to enfranchise the youngest fans. From cartoons to failed sequels and prequels, Star Wars is a legendary film that refuses to die, and fans refuse to let it go (myself included).

News also confirmed that the roles of R2D2, C3PO and Chewbacca will include the original actors, too.

Time to dust off those Light Sabers, replace the batteries, and start practicing those blind-folded fights. The Force isn’t that far, far away.

Star Wars Episode 7 is schedule to hit theaters in December 2015.