Luke, Leia, and Han Solo top 'Star Wars Episode VII' cast
After months of speculation, Lucasfilm and Disney announce the cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford are back. Max von Sydow and "Girls" star Adam Driver will also star.
Wonder no more, "Star Wars" fans: The cast of the upcoming "Episode VII" has finally been announced.
In a post on StarWars.com Tuesday, Lucasfilm and Disney spelled out who will star in the film, which is planned for a December 18, 2015, release. Topping the bill, and reprising their roles from the original trilogy, are Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia.
Joining them will be returning stars Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, and Kenny Baker as R2-D2. Notable newcomers include Max von Sydow, "Girls" star Adam Driver, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, and Domhnall Gleeson.
The film, which is both the seventh in the series, and the seventh in the chronology, is set to take place about 30 years after the events of "Return of the Jedi."
There had been plenty of speculation that Ford, Hamill, Fisher, and Mayhew were slated to be in the movie, but Lucasfilm had so far refused to confirm those rumors. In a January AMA Reddit interview, Hamill had joked that despite everyone asking about whether he is involved, "The only character I know for sure is returning is my friend R2-D2. He hasn't stopped beeping about it."
To date, the "Star Wars" films -- including 2008's "The Clone Wars" -- have earned $4.485 billion. In 2012, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $4.05 billion.