Han Solo, Luke Skywalker And Princess Leia To Be The Leads In Star Wars: Episode VII And Michael Fassbender, Hugo Weaving And More Being Eyed

Nothing is set in stone but Star War fans may want to sit down for this one. So far we only knew that J.J. Abrams was directing and co-writing with Lawrence Kasdan, that it was going to be a new trilogy with solo movies in between, and that the stars of the original trilogy, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were going to reprise their roles in the new installment, but now with production getting closer and closer, things seem to have changed.

According to THR, the script for Star Wars: Episode VII has been significantly reworked since Abrams and Kasdan took over the writing duties from Michael Arndt, who wanted the story to focus on the offspring’s of Luke, Leia and Solo, with the original cast from Star Wars taking on supportive roles, but Abrams saw things differently and wanted the first new film to be centered on Luke, Solo and Leia “so audiences could have one more chance to enjoy them before a fitting send-off.” Apparently Lucas was brought in to help the matters but deferred it to Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy and now the first film (at least) will be focused on Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, with the new generation coming in and taking over on Episodes VIII and IX.

This is represents a significant change from what we thought the new Star Wars film was going to be, and it seems that some of the characters from Arndt’s script no longer appear in Episode VII while new ones are being created, for instance, actor Ty Sheridan was being considered for role but now it seems that his character has been scrapped. Also, the other actors (Michael B. Jordan, Alex Pettyfer, Jack O’Connell or Saoirse Ronan) that were rumored to have auditioned last year are now in a sort of limbo, so there’s no telling if any of them will survive the cut.

But when some might fall others shall arise, and THR confirms that actor Jesse Plemons, who we reported yesterday to be in his second audition, is indeed in the list. But the news outlet also says that other names are on the list, like Michael Fassbender, who apparently met up with Abrams this past December, Adam Driver from Grirls and also Hugo Weaving ir being reported to have met with the director to discuss playing an Imperial commander. The report also says that Abrams is looking for a 20 something actress of mixed race or black to play either the daughter or granddaughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Personally I think it’s a good idea to have Hamill, Ford and Fisher to star as the leads in the first film of a new Star Wars trilogy and gradually fade away to secondary roles, because then the shock of a new story with new characters will be less apparent.

But don’t forget, nothing has been officially said from either J.J. Abrams or producer Kathleen Kennedy, but with production set start this summer, expect to hear plenty of official news sooner rather then later.

Share on Google Plus