First New Cast Member for Star Wars Episode VII Announced

Variety is reporting that Adam Driver (Girls) has been cast in Star Wars: Episode VII in a major role. The describe it as "Exact details are unknown, but the character is said to be in the vein of iconic “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader." The is the first new casting announcement for the film which is under the usual Abrams cloak of secrecy. Considering his age (30), I assume his role is more apprenticeship to the big bad than the movie's big bad. The current rumor for that is Michael Fassbender or Hugo Weaving. My vote is for Weaving because he seems owns anything he is in and seems to enjoy fan interactions while I suspect Fassbender is simply unpleasant to be around. Considering Abrams has a history of even refusing to reveal the names of characters, it could be a while before learn anything specific. Theoretically Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill will be returning but that still has not been officially confirmed.

Star Wars Episode VII Script Completed

In an act that probably caused him great physical and mental pain, JJ Abrams actually revealed a few things about Star Wars Episode VII while promoting his new TV series Believe. One, the script is complete and now "We're working really hard and we've got our script and we're in deep prep, full steam ahead, y'know." He also verified that he did meet with Jesse Plemons (Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad) as "one of the actors that we’ve talked to." This doesn't mean he has been cast, just that he is probably one of dozens Abrams has probably considered for various roles. He also verified the movie will be filmed on traditional 35mm film, not IMAX or digital (the new standard). For Abrams this is the most "secrets" (for him every aspect of production is a state secret) he has revealed at once about the movie so things will likely go dormant for a few months while he recovers.

Official Darth Vader Selfie

To mark the occasion of Star Wars opening an official Instagram account, a Darth Vader selfie was posted. The photoshopped image uses background from Episode III A New Hope so I don't recommend making the leap that its proof that Vader appears in Star Wars: Episode VII. Chances are the new account will be used to posted images from the past and the present of franchise.

Abrams Pleased With Star Wars Release Date Change

In an interview with MTV to promote his new novel "S", Star Wars Episode VII director and writer JJ Abrams commented on the movies change of release date from Summer to Christmas 2015. He joked about the "casting" of R2-D2 and how tough a negotiator his agent was.

"I will say that it is an infinitely better situation now than when they were saying that they wanted it in the summer [of 2015]," he said. "Before I even came onto the project, they were talking about 2015, and they made this announcement very early on, which I understand. I understand why they'd want that, but it didn't necessarily have anything to do with the reality of where anything was creatively. I think that it's a hugely important thing that [the creative process] come first," Abrams said. "A release date is great, but you have to release something great. To me, the new release date is a huge improvement."

First Official Star Wars Episode VII Picture (Updated)

JJ Abrams or an intern at Bad Robot has tweeted what is technically the first official picture from Star Wars Episode VII. The picture shows director JJ Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and others as they stand around R2D2. The guess is they are at Pinewood Studios in England working on pre-production for the movie coming in 2015. The tweet:

Hi from the workshop! #StarWarsVII pic.twitter.com/9R7JGSfxlC

Update: The two builders in the picture has been identified as Lee Towersey and Oliver Steeples. The long time Star Wars fans were hired to built R2D2 for the movie and keep him running for whatever film conditions require of the famous robot. The pair have been building replicas of R2 and other Star Wars droids for years so they have the experience and the fan credentials to re-create the famous droid to meet fan expectations.