Star Wars: Episode VII cast revealed

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill will feature in Star Wars: Episode VII, the latest film in the franchise.

Other actors confirmed are Andy Serkis and Max von Sydow, alongside relative newcomers John Boyega and Daisy Ridley.

Star Wars: Episode VII will start shooting at Pinewood Studios, near London, in May.

Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker will also return as C-3PO, Chewbacca and R2-D2 respectively.

Director JJ Abrams said: “We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again.

“We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

A picture of the new cast, with R2-D2 in a wooden crate, was posted on the official Star Wars site on Tuesday.

The new recruits include:

• Domhnall Gleeson
• Daisy Ridley
• John Boyega
• Max von Sydow
• Oscar Isaac.
• Adam Driver – he has been widely reported to be playing Star Wars‘ main antagonist.
• Andy Serkis

Open auditions for two roles in the new films were held in the UK and Ireland last November.

They were for a “street smart and strong” orphaned girl in her late teens and a “smart capable” man in his late teens or early 20s.

It has not been confirmed whether the new cast came from the auditions, but none of them are complete unknowns and all have previous experience on screen.

No announcement has been made about the specific parts each of the cast members will play.

Episode VII will be the fifth Star Wars movie to be shot in the UK.

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and mark Hamill became household names thanks to their roles in the originals – with Ford as smuggler and rogue Han Solo, Fisher as Princess Leia and Hamill as farmhand-turned-Jedi Luke Skywalker.

Star Wars: Episode VII is due in cinemas on December 18, 2015.