'Star Wars: Episode VII' Adds Two New Cast Members, Two-Week Hiatus
It's a good news/bad news situation for the production of Star Wars: Episode VII.
Good news: J.J. Abrams has added two more cast members to the ensemble from one of the open casting calls for the new Star Wars film. Bad news: the shooting of the film, which is currently taking place at U.K.'s Pinewood Studios, will take a two-week hiatus in August.
Okay, so the bad news isn't really "bad news," per se, as this hiatus is not expected to have any affect on the release date. However, the hiatus is necessary due to the on-set injury suffered by Harrison Ford last month, as the actor sustained an ankle injury from the door of the Millennium Falcon, which is about the most coincidental injury an actor could sustain.
But the bigger news bite is the casting news: actors Crystal Clarke and Pip Andersen have joined the cast after being discovered at the open casting calls in various cities in the U.S. and U.K. It's unknown who the newcomers will portray, but the open casting call description featured two characters named Rachel and Thomas (likely codenames) who are very similar to Luke and Leia from the Original Trilogy, in a lot of ways. For example, Rachel is described as being "street smart, independent, athletic, natural beauty," which isn't that terribly far off the mark from Princess Leia. Meanwhile, Thomas is described as a man who has "grown up without a father's influence. Without the model of being a man, he doesn't have the strongest sense of himself," which is about as close as you can get to calling a guy Luke Skywalker without actually naming him Luke Skywalker.
"The Star Wars universe has always been about discovering and nurturing young talent and in casting Episode VII we wanted to remain absolutely faithful to this tradition. We are delighted that so many travelled to see us at the open casting calls and that we have been able to make Crystal and Pip a part of the film," said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in the Sunday casting statement.
Personally, I can't wait to see how this all plays out. As a massive Star Wars fan, I'm hoping Abrams manages to do justice to the universe. If nothing else, I'd just love for the adventurous spirit of the Original Trilogy to return.
Credit: The Hollywood Reporter