Star Wars: The Force Awakens (SPOILERS)

[Jesse James]

Yippeeee!

Other than Serkis I don't know any of those new people.

Who was the redhaired dude from Harry Pothead?  Is that the redheaded kid from those movies, or no?  I never watched any of them.

I'm anxious to see anything from this...  I'm excited again.  I don't think I'm excited where any letdown will be met by denial (like, oh, say TPM did to me), but I'm excited where I really just want to see new Star Wars and want to like it, and if I don't like it I'll just ignore it and go back to liking the 4.5 movies I do like from the Saga.

[P-Siddy]

Who was the redhaired dude from Harry Pothead?  Is that the redheaded kid from those movies, or no?  I never watched any of them.

Well, you're probably thinking of Rupert Grint, the red-haired Ron Weasley.  This guy played Ron's oldest brother... Weasleys all have red hair.

That pic has definite lens-flare.

[Jesse James]

Yeah, whoever the main character one was...  I really know nobody in that whole picture who wasn't involved in the original movies or who isn't JJ Abrams.  He looks like Itchy from Dick Tracy.

[Nicklab]

Who was the redhaired dude from Harry Pothead?  Is that the redheaded kid from those movies, or no?  I never watched any of them.

Well, you're probably thinking of Rupert Grint, the red-haired Ron Weasley.  This guy played Ron's oldest brother... Weasleys all have red hair.

That pic has definite lens-flare.

It was a casting requirement for any Weasley in the Harry Potter films to be a Ginger, or at least look like one.

And speaking of Domnhall Gleason?  I know that there's been some rumors floating around about the child or Grandchild of Obi-Wan Kenobi floating around.  Seeing Domnhall Gleason's photo from his IMDB got some wheels spinning because of a very strong resemblance...







And Max Von Sydow?  Looking at some recent pictures of him harkens back to another OT actor...






The resemblances leave me thinking that both actors could be playing Kenobi's of some sort.

Now was it the lens flare, or was Max Von Sydow not present for the table read?

[Phrubruh]

Von Sydow is seated next  to Hamill. They are wearing the same shirt. You can't see Ford because of the trademark Abrams len flare. For the most part, the new kids have very little acting experience. I believe Gleason and Isaac are the only ones with some credits under their belts. Ridley has the least credits.

[Jayson]

Von Sydow is seated next  to Hamill. They are wearing the same shirt. You can't see Ford because of the trademark Abrams len flare.

No, that's Anthony Daniels. Sydow wasn't there.

April 29th, Pinewood Studios, UK - Writer/Director/Producer J.J Abrams (top center right) at the cast read-through of Star Wars Episode VII at Pinewood Studios with (clockwise from right) Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Producer Bryan Burk, Lucasfilm President and Producer Kathleen Kennedy, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Andy Serkis, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Adam Driver and Writer Lawrence Kasdan. Copyright and Photo Credit: David James.

[Rob]

For some reason I'm less concerned with the actors in this thing and more concerned with the story.    After all, TPM had some actors I really loved and was excited about and well... look how that turned out.

Having lots of big known actors was *part of TPM's problem to me.  I like this formula better and it's very OT in style... actors with some credibility who aren't household names - followed by one incredibly established older actor who may not be as familiar to younger fans.

The other problem with the acting in TPM was George Lucas, plain and simple.  If you can't get a decent performance out of Sam Jackson, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman... then you're not much of a director.

[Brian]

Didn't get a chance to post yesterday, but such exciting news.  I know there have been heavy rumors about the original cast returning, but seeing them all sitting there together is really cool.  It was sort of strange, seeing this yesterday it was sort of a "wow, this is really happening" sort of thing.  I know they are older and everything, but it will still be great - at least to me - to see Harrison, Mark, and Carrie (as well as Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker) all together again in a Star Wars movie.

As far as the new cast, honestly aside from Domhall Gleason and Andy Serkis, I don't know that I've seen them in much of anything, but that doesn't bother me.  I think it was pretty true of the original cast as well, and that turned out great.  Really curious to see who everyone is playing now, so I wonder how long we'll have to wait for more information there.  I'm wondering if maybe Daisy Ridley is playing Han/Leia's kiddo?  I know my daughter would be pretty psyched for that.  I know there are rumors for some of the other roles, but you just never know.  I mean, Andy Serkis?  That was out of nowhere too, it seems, but makes perfect sense.

After primarily following Marvel movie news the past few years, its great to be back in "Star Wars hype" mode again.  Hopefully we won't have to wait this long for another bit of news.  Looking forward to having all the speculative discussions like during the prequel days here on the forums.

[Scott]

Really Portman and McGregor weren't huge stars at the time, more in line with most of the new cast here.  Jackson and Neeson were though.  I really have no comment on anyone as I don't think I've seen any of their work except Max von Sydow who was fantastic in Strange Brew

[P-Siddy]

I'm wondering if maybe Daisy Ridley is playing Han/Leia's kiddo? 

Interesting idea, especially since she's sitting between Harrison and Carrie.

[Jesse James]

I thought Jackson and Neeson were two of the more redeeming qualities of the prequals too.  I don't care for Natalie Portman in general, so her sucking as an actress just fits my thought of her, personally.

I thought McGregor was pretty awesome as well.  He played the part perfectly.  I think as much as it's Lucas' fault, I think some actors also maybe just can't do that kind of work while others can (Ford, McGregor, etc.).

[Rob]

I thought Jackson and Neeson were two of the more redeeming qualities of the prequals too.  I don't care for Natalie Portman in general, so her sucking as an actress just fits my thought of her, personally.

I thought McGregor was pretty awesome as well.  He played the part perfectly.  I think as much as it's Lucas' fault, I think some actors also maybe just can't do that kind of work while others can (Ford, McGregor, etc.).

Sam Jackson is obviously a very popular actor, but he doesn't have much range or ability when it comes to actually acting.  Honestly, in the 9 million movies I've seen him in, Django Unchained is the only one where I thought he actually gave a real performance... where he wasn't just being Sam Jackson in whatever costume they gave him. 

In the Prequels, I thought he was HORRIBLE.  "A Sith, Lord?!"

McGregor was the only one I felt did a decent job, and Ian McDirmind, but he was familiar with his character and still came off as borderline comedic when he started going "no... No... NO!!!" and "Power!!!!!!!!!  Unlimited Power!!!!!!!!!."

[Darby]

Ewan McGregor is pretty much the only reason the PT works. Liam Neeson was excellent as always, but if McGregor wasn't there throughout imagine how much more tedious the acting and the story would have been. He's the emotional core in a hollow series.

I really like the casting so far. There are big question marks with some of the unknowns, but that's a plus I think here. No expectations or preconceptions. Max Von Sydow however brings a lot with him and I think we all expect a villain out of him. Andy Serkis I think is wonderful so this is a HUGE plus for this movie. There will be a lot of speculation on the characters, but I think we can infer the Daisy Ridley character as Han and Leia's daughter. She looks like she could be their kid, so it makes sense (though she would be young for this; given those two character's age in this movie, really, she could be their grandchild).

I look forward to the eventual rumors on Frank Oz and Ian McDiarmid, and the eventual confirmation. A SW movie without either would beg serious questions and I don't think we've seen the last of either.

[Pete_Fett]

In addition to Frank Oz and Ian McDiarmid - I'm also hoping for Ewan McGregor to be announced at some point as well. Like Darby, I feel that one of the best things to come out of the PT was McGregor's portrayal of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. I would have ZERO problem with him made up to look like "old" Obi-Wan and stepping in to portray the force ghost version of Luke's former mentor.

Doing so would be a great way to tie in all six movies.

I shudder at the possibility of Hayden Christensen showing up though - might as well have a cardboard cut out of him and then have Matt Lanter read the lines - the result would be a million times better.

[Darby]

I also expect Ewan McGregor, for a lot of reasons. Outside of some trickery, we no longer have Alec Guinness as the elder Obi-Wan. There's no way we go through all of the ST without seeing him, Yoda, and one must assume Anakin (though like Pete, I don't particularly feel strongly about Hayden Christensen, but then Lucas has already replaced Sebastian Shaw...). Ewan McGregor is on the record about being up for returning to the role. Obi Wan is one of the few solo characters who makes sense for one of these solo movies, has a built in and willing star, and would be awesome all over the place. I think this rumor about Obi-Wan's kid/grandkid could lead to some necessary cameos, and ultimately, some Obi Wan movie(s).