Gavin Logan dissects the new Star Wars cast for Episode VII….
It seems like an age ago when Disney announced the acquisition of LucasFilm for a whopping $4 billion and with it the exciting news that we would be getting more Star Wars movies. Since then exactly 2446 actors have been linked with possible roles in the upcoming Episode VII. Okay so that number was completely made up but it certainly feels close to that amount. Only a few days ago J.J. Abrams and company revealed the list of new names that would be joining some old faces and making their mark in the new Star Wars universe. Minutes later the internet broke.
Now that the dust has somewhat settled and we have all managed to regain our breath again I thought it might be a good idea to have a slightly closer look at the new cast and perhaps have a go at guessing their possible roles…
Trio of New Leads:
John Boyega
British actor who made quite the impression in Joe Cornish’s 2011 alien comedy Attack the Block. He’ll also be popping up soon in 24: Live Another Day. Heavily rumoured to be the lead male and main protagonist. Probably will be a Jedi Padawan when we first meet him but will grow into a more central figure as the first movie progresses. It’s likely he’ll be our fundamental “hero” once the second movie hits. A rumour back in March had him and Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad) fighting it out for the role.
Domhnall Gleeson
You may recognise him as Bill Weasley of Harry Potter fame but recently appeared alongside Rachel McAdams in Richard Curtis time travelling rom-com About Time. He’s fresh off sharing the screen with ‘man of the hour’ Michael Fassbender and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Frank. He just happens to be the son of Brendan Gleeson, so acting is literally in his blood. He’s had a plethora of top notch performances over the past few years working his way up the ladder alongside some of the best actors in the business. Possibly another Jedi Padawan but rumours are flying around that he may portray a droid. Not sure where they came from but doesn’t sit quite right with me. I’m sure he’ll be wielding a lightsaber. Personally I’m very excited by his casting.
Daisy Ridley
Relatively unknown actress who has polished her skills on the sets of Casualty, Mr Selfridge and Silent Witness. Looks destined to be the daughter of Han and Leia and although it sounds cliche will probably end up being a love interest to Boyega or Gleeson. She’s been garnering a lot of attention for obvious reasons, being the only new female to join the cast. Also has come under some premature unjust criticism due to her lack of work. Some folk out there will never be happy. She must have something special.
Probably one of the better known actors of the bunch. His recent stint in the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis as a struggling folk singer during the 60’s caught everybody’s attention and brought in some well deserved award nominations. Had bit parts in Robin Hood, Drive, Che to name but a few. Has already shared a screen with Gleeson on upcoming sci-fi flick Ex-Machina. Most likely will be a highly respected Jedi and possibly a mentor figure for Boyega.
Max Von Sydow
Legendary Oscar nominated actor who rose to fame after playing a mean game of chess against the Grim Reaper in Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. Credited in almost 100 movies including memorable performances in The Exorcist, The Greatest Story Ever Told and more recently Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, he will surely shine as an evil Sith Lord hell bent on taking revenge on the Jedi Order. There certainly are similarities to Palpatine and Dooku. Or maybe he’ll portray an aging politician of the New Republic? Perhaps he’s being called upon solely for his unique and frankly terrifying voice although this would seem like a missed opportunity in my opinion.
Andy Serkis
Easily the most recognisable and well known of the new cast. He is a mo-cap legend who revolutionised the technology by incorporating genuine emotion into his performances as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Went on to further cement his name in mo-cap history by portraying King Kong in Peter Jackson’s adaptation and Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. He’s recently been helping out Mark Ruffalo on the set of the Avengers: Age of Ultron too. Also a talented writer and director and despite having an illustrious career so far Serkis is often times shamefully underrated and too regularly linked with his creatures rather than being giving his dues as an actor. It’s impossible to imagine he won’t be involved with mo-cap someway considering his experience but it’s also likely that he’ll play a ‘normal’ role too. I can see him as an alien species rather than a human. Without sounding derogatory, Serkis excels in the sleazy, manipulative type bad guy role but maybe he’ll end up being a sidekick of sorts to Oscar Isaac. He’s definitely at his best when he can play off other more central characters.
Adam Driver
Heavily rumoured to be joining over the last few months so not a surprise at all to see him sitting around the table. Made his name starring alongside American indie sweetheart Lena Dunham in HBO’s Girls but has had roles in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and has signed on to be apart of Martin Scorsese’s Silence alongside Andrew Garfield, Ken Watanabe and Qui-Gon himself Liam Neeson. He also shared the screen with Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis and even sang a song with him. Early reports indicate he is set to play a villain in the same vein as Darth Vader. He certainly has the presence for a villain. His deep voice and eerie facial expressions also make him the perfect nemesis for one of the younger good guys. Could be the apprentice to Von Sydow’s master. There’s also an outside chance he might play a Solo child who is tempted towards the Dark Side by an ancient Sith, although since this new trilogy will be going down the route of entirely original stories I highly doubt they’ll do that.
So there we have it. I think it’s a decent mix of quality actors with experience and fresh faces who have potential. I’m glad we don’t have any “big Hollywood names” per se. Star Wars is one of the few franchise’s that really doesn’t need “big names”. The characters, the history, the world, the movie itself is the attraction. Combine this list with the original cast and we have considerable reasons to be positive. Care to cast your opinions on the new faces or who they may play? Perhaps the seating arrangement below may hint at their character’s relationships..?
Title and plot?
With only a few days to go until Star Wars Day the internet has been abuzz with what the next announcement will be. My guess is we might finally get a title. What do you think? Dawn of the New Republic? Order of the Jedi? The First Dawn? One with the Force? Okay some of those were pretty dodgy but at this point we don’t even know anything about the plot and until then it’ll be difficult to even guess a title. Michael Arndt’s early script drafts apparently had the Solo children as the central leads but Lawrence Kasdan’s rewrites switched it up. Abrams confirmed the first movie would take place 30 years after Return of the Jedi so it’s fairly obvious Luke will have reignited the Jedi Order and the remaining members of the Rebellion will have gone to some lengths to rebuild the Republic. What are your thoughts?
‘Til May the Fourth my young Padawans.
