This will be a day long remembered. On Tuesday the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII was confirmed by director J.J. Abrams. The casting does not come as a surprise for fans, as rumors have been swirling for months about bringing back familiar faces.
Abrams announced that Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo) would reprise their original trilogy roles. Fans are glad to know that other stars including Anthony Daniels (C3P0), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), and Kenny Baker (R2D2) are also confirmed. New cast members have also been announced including, Adam Driver, John Boyeta, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson and Max von Sydow.
The cast had their first table read in preparation for filming in London, which begins next month. Abrams has a lot to live up to, but thanks to Star Trek, he has previous experience developing a feature film from a cult classic franchise. Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, co-wrote the script for Episode VII with Abrams. Even John Williams was brought in to write the music for the new film, having written the music for every previous Star Wars films.
As a devoted Star Wars fan I have high hopes for the next installment in the series. I am also a fan of J.J. Abrams and have faith he will do justice for all the die-hard fans out there. Of course there will be those who will always complain, but the confirmation of the original cast will no doubt raise anticipation and excitement in the hearts of many. It will be interesting to see the old cast mesh with the newcomers, who have an enormous amount of pressure to perform well in the world their cast members created thirty-years ago. Episode VII has a release date of December 18, 2015. Until then we must wait to see the creation of a new era in the Star Wars universe.
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