TORONTO — Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker from the 1977 original will be part of the Star Wars reboot, it was announced Tuesday.
They will be joined by John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson and Max von Sydow in the film, which is due out Dec. 18, 2015.
“We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII,” said director J.J. Abrams in a message posted online.
“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.”
Abrams has said the new Star Wars will be set about 35 years after Return of the Jedi (in which Darth Vader perished).
The announcement came with a photo of the cast assembled in one room.
Ford (Han Solo), Fisher (Princess Leia Organa), Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Daniels (C3P0), Mayhew (Chewbacca) and Baker (R2D2) range in age from 57 to 79.
Of the newcomers, Driver is well known for his role on Girls, Serkis for playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and von Sydow is a veteran actor who recently appeared in The Tudors.
Two of the new cast members are making movies in Montreal before venturing into a galaxy far, far away. Boyega is scheduled to be in Montreal this summer shooting Race and Gleeson is in Montreal shooting the period drama Brooklyn.
John Williams will return as composer for the new Star Wars.
Created by George Lucas, the Star Wars franchise consists of seven movies and several TV series and video games.
Canadian actor Hayden Christensen portrayed Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
Disney purchased Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012 and announced it will release three new films.
Abrams has been widely regarded for pumping new life into the Star Trek franchise with his 2009 reboot and last year’s Star Trek Into Darkness.
TMS debates: Was bringing back the cast of the original “Star Wars” films a good idea?
BELOW: Take a look at the cast of Star Wars VII.
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