After crushing the hearts of at least a few longtime Star Wars fans who grew up playing the video games and reading the novels that made up the Expanded Universe, Lucasfilm, under the new leadership of Kathleen Kennedy and the ownership of Disney, made it official last week that everything not in the actual Star Wars films is not canon. Sorry, but don’t worry, that stuff will still come out and profit will be made from it. It just ain’t legit anymore.
Going forward however, all future films and related projects will be part of the same shared universe. Essentially, Disney is applying the Marvel Studios multimedia model to Lucasfilm. In the days since this news, all signs have pointed to a series of casting announcements coming in time for the May 4th Star Wars day celebration and that icebreaker came early.
Just moments ago, Lucasfilm broke the news and lifted the veil of secrecy surrounding the new and returning cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. First up, yes, original stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker are all returning..
And franchise newcomers who all just redefiner their career paths: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow.
Director J.J. Abrams:
“We 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.”
May the force be with you.
Source: Screen Rant