Well, it's about time. After months of rumors and speculation, the principal cast of J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode VII has finally been revealed. As we expected, it's a mix of old and new, with the original gang of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher returning to play Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia, respectively. They'll be joined by their less human counterparts C3PO, R2-D2, and Chewbacca, who will all be played by original cast members Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.
Adding some much-needed youth to the proceedings will be the previously reported Adam Driver, who's expected to play a Darth Vader-like villain, as well as fellow relative newcomers John Boyega (Attack The Block), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), and Domhnall Gleeson (About Time). The female lead goes to the previously unknown British ingenue Daisy Ridley, who should start adding "household name" to her résumé. Veteran thesps Andy Serkis and Max von Sydow round out the cast.
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While major stars like Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o were rumored to be front-runners for roles in the film, Abrams went the route of his Star Trek films by avoiding boldface names in favor of young up-and-comers. Luckily for him, Abrams could have cast a tattered dictionary and a banana peel in the leads, and Star Wars: Episode VII would still be the highest grossing film of 2015. Check out this amazing photo of a cast table read below.
Star Wars: Episode VII soars into theaters on December 18, 2015.
Photo: Courtesy of Starwars.com