Much ado was made about the dearth of actresses in the initial casting announcement for “Star Wars: Episode VII”, and to that, the team responded effectively with a calm hand in the air, insisting fans to “wait.” Now we know what they were hinting to, as the long rumored Lupita Nyong’o (Oscar winner for “12 Years a Slave”) and Gwendoline Christie (Multiversity Award winner for most lovable non knight but still kind of a knight who fought a bear and became BFF’s with Jamie Lannister for “Game of Thrones”) have now joined the cast, per an announcement this morning. From the press release:
“I could not be more excited about Lupita and Gwendoline joining the cast of Episode VII,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “It’s thrilling to see this extraordinarily talented ensemble taking shape.”
Two wonderful actresses being added to the cast is a huge thing, both for the potential of the film and in terms of assuaging fears (which this definitely wasn’t designed to do). I personally think Christie and Nyong’o are dynamite, and I hope within this film they are given roles befitting their prodigious acting talents.
“Episode VII” is coming from JJ Abrams, and is set to arrive December 18, 2015. You may start lining up outside a theater…now.
