SPECULATION: Who Isn’t Who In Star Wars: Episode 7???

Ever since the D-Day announcement of October 30th, 2012, fans like me and you have been speculating as to who will be cast in Episode VII. Well now we know the meat and potatoes of it. But who — and almost every living actor on the planet had to be either speculated about and/or considered by Lucasfilm et al — wasn’t cast . . .


IF Kathleen Kennedy and JJ Abrams listened to the fans the cast would look something like this —

Michael Fassbender, Hugo Weaving, Gary Oldman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Saoirse Ronan, Chloe Grace Moretz, Dominic Monaghan, Ksenia Solo, Judi Dench, Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gossling, Lily Collins, Summer Glau, Gillian Anderson, the entire cast of Game of Thrones, and Zac Efron. Okay, maybe not Efron, but you get the point. The fanbase’s fantasy dream casting would have contained a million names. Just the cost of the actors alone would have topped $200 million!!! 

But Kennedy and Abrams wisely chose a new old path, which will be the path to undoubted success. Dominic Monaghan told us as much:

“What he said was, we don’t want to fall into that mistake of people going ‘Oh, it’s that guy from that thing!’ and then you’re completely out of the ‘Star Wars’ universe.”



So you see, from a certain point of view, the new path is the old path to success. JJ is doing what George did in ’77 when he cast unknowns Ford, Fisher, and Hamill. Today’s Hollywood, which has infected the fanbase, is to get the biggest names on the planet. But this cast of relative unknowns is the right way to go.

When the cast was announced a couple days ago I was pretty sure we’d have a few names that were pretty famous (or infamous) that would be controversial to someone. But this cast is largely unknown with the biggest names being Max Von Sydow and Andy Serkis. Just for fun, though, try to guess all of Sydow’s movies. Or maybe just the recent ones. That’s right! It’s difficult because he has been a character actor that isn’t know for any one thing. Andy Serkis is known for being Gollum, Caesar, and some other CGI characters. Before Tuesday 6.5 of the 7 billion people on the planet couldn’t have picked him out of a lineup of hobbits.

So, it must be said thus far that Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm, JJ Abrams and moreover, Disney, is doing everything possible to get Episode 7 right for the fans and for the franchise as a whole going forward.



However, what’s the point of who isn’t in the movie? Well, the point is that there has been a lot of speculation over the last couple years. Some of the NOT cast actors include Sigourney Weaver, rumored to have been “in talks,” and Julianne Moore. So I ask, does the lack of a redheaded female mean there will be no [Mara Jade] in Episode 7 as has been rumored for a while now??? OR is a brunette already cast to play the fiery redhead??? After all, recall that Karen Gillan cut her beautiful red mane for Guardians and donated her fiery tresses for a wig:

Marvel are the best company to work for, they really are.  They treat you really well.  They made my hair into the most incredible well-made wig and they gave it to the Star Wars people.  It’s just so funny to think that my hair is made into a wig, next to all these Star Wars monster heads in a warehouse. 

Then there’s the curious case of “Rachel”, a.k.a the “Shut up and eat your apple!” girl. Keep in mind that this description was released AFTER the Arndt-Abrams-Kasdan writing shake-up. 


It would seem that Daisy Ridley is almost certainly playing a Solo daughter. Just based on her positioning in the cast photo from Tuesday even suggests as much, not to mention what her father said

Would they have cast these characters and not reveal them now? OR are “Rachel” and “Mara” yet to be cast

Personally, I wholeheartedly believe Star Wars can definitely handle adding more women to the cast as either villains or heroes or both and hope they do! One of the latest, and most persistent, rumors has been that Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o of 12 Years a Slave has been pursued by the Episode VII production. Could she have been cast and not announced?

Academy Award winning Night Sister???

Per Viral Hide’s report:

Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong’o is also in the cast. She will be playing a character called ‘Asajj Ventress’. Nyong’o was not officially announced in yesterdays report but was one of the first names to have signed up after Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford.

And just for the record there has been plenty of speculation that Billy Dee Williams, Frank Oz, Ian McDermid, Ewan McGregor and even Hayden Christiansen would return in order to reprise their roles as Force Ghosts or Sith Specters or questionable friends. Does the lack of word on these fronts declare that they won’t appear? OR is their inclusion in an official announcement too much of a spoiler alert for JJ’s Mystery Box strategy??? 

Stay tuned . . . 

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41 thoughts on “SPECULATION: Who Isn’t Who In Star Wars: Episode 7???

  • May 3, 2014 at 3:06 pm
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    Hmm. Very interesting…

  • May 3, 2014 at 3:21 pm
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    “What he said was, we don’t want to fall into that mistake of people going ‘Oh, it’s that guy from that thing!’ and then you’re completely out of the ‘Star Wars’ universe.”

    I guess Monaghan makes exceptions with his lord of the rings costar andy serkis.

    • May 3, 2014 at 3:48 pm
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      As I pointed out, Andy Serkis isn’t well-known by American audiences. He had a small role in LOTR where his face was actually shown. He’s mostly known for his mo-cap work. And Monaghan was quoting JJ.

    • May 3, 2014 at 4:43 pm
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      Very prepubescently unfairly judgment of you, Anon.

    • May 3, 2014 at 4:52 pm
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      > “What he said was, we don’t want to fall into that mistake of people going ‘Oh, it’s that guy from that thing!’ and then you’re completely out of the ‘Star Wars’ universe.”

      Well, few people who watched King Kong would suddenly think:”Oh, it’s that guy who played Gollum! Same body-language, don’t you see?’

      The principle holds whether Serkis is playing a human or a CGI character. His real face was of course briefly seen both in King Kong and the final LotR installment, but that is not what he is known for. It might actually be refreshing to see him as himself for a whole movie. He could be the “forty-something millitary type” from the casting call (Serkis is 50, but he ages gracefully).

    • May 3, 2014 at 6:08 pm
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      Actually, Andy Serkis has been in live action films and movie people everywhere recognize him. Also, he was in King Kong as one of the ship crew in addition to the big Ape. For movie people, the guy is a celebrity and certainly no “no name” actor.

    • May 3, 2014 at 8:05 pm
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      Before the star wars announcement I couldn’t pick Serkis out in a lineup. And I’ve seen all the movies mentioned above.

    • May 3, 2014 at 9:26 pm
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      kurumako,

      I’m pretty sure you’re not the only one who couldn’t pick out Serkis in a lineup, just like I’m sure I’m not the only one who could.

      The guy’s certainly no Brad Pitt or Christian Bale, but there’s tons of us who are familiar enough with his face; certainly much more than Boyega, Ridley or even Isaac and Driver, at this point in time.

  • May 3, 2014 at 3:23 pm
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    If disney really wanted to treat the fans right, they would have announced another female lead character along with everybody else.

  • May 3, 2014 at 3:26 pm
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    Ummm…. Not to be a downer, but as of the time of this shooting isn’t Asaj really, really, really, old. If she’s alive at all. I never watched the clone wars, but doesn’t the character appear in clone wars? That’s my biggest problem with this rumor.

    • May 3, 2014 at 3:49 pm
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      Asajj Ventress was an alien from Dathomir. There’s no telling how old they can be. Also, Ventress was imbued with magic from the Night Sisters, which may have some affect on her. Either way it shouldn’t be a hindrance.

    • May 3, 2014 at 4:33 pm
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      Also, in such a fantasy universe there is always the possibility of some form of suspended animation. Carbon freezing is said (by Lando) to place an individual in “perfect hibernation”.

    • May 3, 2014 at 7:22 pm
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      As far as I know she is half Zabrak half human. Zabraks live the same as normal humans, so she would be very old

    • May 3, 2014 at 10:30 pm
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      But isn’t Assaj …. white? I don’t mean to be racist nor exempt a racial joke, but since the Clone Wars are considered canon and Assaj is the most palest of all characters when it comes to skin color, it would be quite odd if Lupe were to adapt such role.

    • May 4, 2014 at 1:22 am
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      I though Asajj was Rattataki? She doesn’t look anything like a Zabrak..

    • May 4, 2014 at 6:44 am
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      According to Wookieepedia Rattatak is Asajj’s homeworld, where as Dathomir is her planet of origin, also unlike their male counterparts female Dathomirians didn’t display horns. Site also mentions that Zabrak based population wasn’t majority, especially if one counts pure-blooded humans as Dathomirians.

    • May 7, 2014 at 7:40 am
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      New Canon means that she could be any race they want as it was never mentioned in The Clone Wars.

  • May 3, 2014 at 3:59 pm
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    I’d hoped that with Luke being the lone Jedi in the galaxy, we’d see him take counsel from force ghosts of; qui gon jin (he deserved better than PM gave him), Obi-Wan, Yoda and Anakin. I think brief appearances at most to tie the new trilogy to the old ones and illustrate that Luke is mostly on his own and building from scratch. I love the idea of Asajj Ventress. A female villain would be a nice change of pace. I trust JJ with this. It won’t be perfect for anyone but hopefully great for everyone.

    • May 3, 2014 at 7:46 pm
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      I would love female villain.

  • May 3, 2014 at 4:01 pm
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    Oh come on. They would never bring Asaj into this as there’s literally no point whatsoever. They’d just create something new.

    • May 3, 2014 at 4:26 pm
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      They made a point of The Clone Wars being canon, so adding Asajj wouldn’t be a stretch. I’m not married to the idea of her appearing but it’s totally possible.

    • May 7, 2014 at 7:41 am
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      They seem very focused on old charachters, locations and storylines .. though I suspect that they will avoid Prequel and The Clone Wars for the first movie.

  • May 3, 2014 at 4:36 pm
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    200 millions for actors only….so what WHAT…is this STAR WARS or WHAT…episodes1,2,3 casting was different and well known actors could had brought big big time and money…I do not trust Disney and SW is not Star Trek…..

  • May 3, 2014 at 4:45 pm
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    “… there has been plenty of speculation that Billy Dee Williams, Frank Oz, Ian McDermid, Ewan McGregor and even Hayden Christiansen would return in order to reprise their roles as Force Ghosts or Sith Specters or questionable friends.”

    I wonder if they will deliberately avoid references to the Prequel Trilogy, based on the assumption that it was less well-liked than the Original Trilogy and it is the mood of the latter they are trying to recreate? Personally I would oppose this philosophy. If Anakin’s force-ghost is ever seen, then it should unquestionably be Hayden Christensen, whatever you think of his performance in the PT (incidentally, I will argue that the problems have to do with script and direction rather than the actor, and Hayden’s craft must also have improved with more experience).

    But Ewan McGregor as a “young” ghost of Obi-Wan would not make sense. McGregor should do the voice, which he masterfully recreated, but they would have to dig up some old unused footage of Alec Guinness and animate his mouth to fit new dialogue. (They apparently considered such an approach for Tarkin in Episode III, but in that movie it would make little sense for him to already look like an older Peter Cushing.)

    • May 3, 2014 at 5:05 pm
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      There was a rumor last summer that ILM had been working on doing a CGI Guiness ghost. Said rumor also suggested that it didn’t work very well and was scrapped in lieu of having an aged-looking Ewan portray Kenobi’s ghost. I suppose the makeup could work, but I like the CGI idea better unless it’s as bad as rumored.

      The BIGGER problem with Kenobi IMO is him having offspring and thus grandchildren. How is he supposed to explain that when Luke and Leia were supposed to be the last hope?

    • May 3, 2014 at 5:39 pm
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      Hey Dominic! Isn’t that Lupita Nygon’o who won a best supporting actress Oscar for ’12 Years A Slave’.
      Huh! Yeah! It is.

    • May 3, 2014 at 6:30 pm
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      I don’t want obi-wan to come back. Without Alec Guiness it just wouldn’t be right at all.

  • May 3, 2014 at 5:59 pm
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    Echo – I have to take everything you have said with a grain of salt… you used the phrase “from a certain point of view” which we all know is Obi-Wan code for a lie.

    • May 3, 2014 at 6:32 pm
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      Well, that’s fine. However, I meant that line as a joke in that I used an oxymoron by claiming that JJ’s approach was both “new” and “old.”

      Geeze, cut some people some slack. 😛

  • May 3, 2014 at 6:11 pm
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    I am still mentally preparing myself for Lucasfilm’s announcement: “This is the complete main cast of characters for Episode VII. There will be NO new female character, as she had been written out of the script.”

    • May 3, 2014 at 6:36 pm
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      Not a chance! We’re still missing the Main (new) character.
      Should be coming soon.

  • May 3, 2014 at 6:34 pm
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    It’s not only the red-haired wig, it’s also having a red-haired actor sitting near Hamill in the cast photo!

    • May 3, 2014 at 6:51 pm
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      Everything indicates that Luke will get the jedi order this film, he would explain child

  • May 3, 2014 at 8:01 pm
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    The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the media he hadn’t got his central character from day 1!

  • May 3, 2014 at 9:37 pm
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    Obi-Wan doesn’t have to have a son or daughter. He could’ve easily had a Force-sensitive relative born at some point AFTER RotJ, whom Luke finds and decides to train as a Jedi. It’s perfectly possible.

    Now, there’s nothing to say that Ventress could have had direct descendants of some kind and that Lupita Nyong’o will be portraying that character…assuming she’s even in the film to begin with.

    I mean, people, c’mon. We’re supposed to be SW fans, aren’t we? One would think that Lucas’ overflowing creative would’ve rubbed off on some of us at least.

  • May 3, 2014 at 9:48 pm
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    “the entire cast of Game of Thrones”

    Hmm…

    “Grrr!”

    “Hodor!”

    “Grrr!”

    “Hodor!”

    “Grrr!”

    “Hodor!”

    That exchange between Chewie and Hodor is just what we’re all waiting for, I’m sure.

  • May 4, 2014 at 6:50 am
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    Most of you are forgetting that it is JJ Abrams directing.. He will not go for the obvious formulaic crap. Even if occasionally his TV shows devolve at times. This is his holy Grail. He will probably not use with or empire in their normal classic capacities. If at all. There will be more acting and less action..there is only one short lightsaber duel in a new hope. Look for this kind of strategy. In star trek he took a character that already existed in khan and changed him to suit his purpose. And made Spock a love interest. He wouldn’t dare make the bad guy some random guy or use a character in an anachronistic fashion… Or would he…wink wink. God i hope he does. Cause Lucas really did great with those predictable prequels right?

    • May 7, 2014 at 7:46 am
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      So far the evidence is that JJ is making a movie that is really heavily based on the original trilogy, so I think he is going to be formulaic. Messing around with the original charachters/locations/races has not gone down well with Star Trek and I doubt he will do it again.

  • May 4, 2014 at 7:06 am
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    Either way it is likely that the villians will be a new order or species altogether and the solution may not be proton torpedoes or even lightsabers

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