Speculation Row: Star Wars VII Casting Calls (?)
J.J. Abrams, being the purveyor of being obtuse about his projects, large and small, has put out through Disney what *could* be the casting call for new characters in the Star Wars universe, specifically for Episode VII (which has now been changed to a release date of December 18th, 2015, giving the filmmakers an extra six months to make the movie and breaking the tradition of SW as summer popcorn fare).
The casting call went out online as just a general casting notice from Walt Disney Studios: “A NATIONWIDE SEARCH FOR LEAD ROLES IN A WALT DISNEY FILM’. Here’s what it looked like:
Click on the picture to see it larger
Note some of the things in this casting notice:
“Rachel – Was quite young when she lost her parents. With no other family, she was forced to make her way in a tough, dangerous town. Now 17, she has become street smart and strong. She is able to take care of herself using humor and guts to get by. Always a survivor, never a victim, she remains hopeful that she can move away from this harsh existence to a better life. She is always thinking of what she can do to move ahead
Seeking young man to play 19-23 years old. Must be handsome, smart and athletic. Must be over 18.
Thomas – Has grown up without a father’s influence. Without the model of being a man, he doesn’t have the strongest sense of himself. Despite this he is smart, capable and shows courage when it is needed. He can appreciate the absurdities in life and understands you can’t take life to seriously.”
The thoughts reading this are that they could either be just a new set of characters in the Star Wars universe – maybe characters that have grown up over time in the wake of the fall of the Empire, where new factions of evil may have sprouted up. Or, looking at least at Thomas’ description, he is the son of either Han Solo or Luke (Cinemablend, which posted an article about this, argued it was fairly obvious it was NOT a Skywalker, and perhaps not) – for Han it would make more sense, a man who would be a Baby Daddy but not follow up on his obligations, yet the son takes after the old man.
“So, like this, only can we trim the buns?”
As for Rachel, it’s a little more curious – touches of Leia and Padme come out, and it would follow in the tradition of strong-willed, tough women with some tenderness deep down. If Star Wars is known for anything, it’s character tropes, carried over not only from film to film but from the Flash Gordon serials they were inspired by.
It’s equally possible, knowing Abrams and the inherent Super-Dark-Top-Top-NSA-style secrecy behind the project – nobody knows a lick really of what the story will be except, given the casting of three original leads, that it will take place a generation later, as is the trend of the other two trilogies, OT and PT – that these character names are a cover. And it could even be possible that it’s not a Star Wars film anyway, perhaps another blockbuster in their line of works (i.e. Pirates of the Caribbean).
If it is Star Wars, and this would follow the other films to be sure, it will feature young, intrepid, fiery and feisty emotional people as the leads. That it’s also being held IN the United Kingdom, where Star Wars is set to shoot next year, is another indicator (auditions being held this month in Britain and Scotland).
Keep an eye and ear out for more news, specifically, I would imagine very soon, concrete news on new casting, not simply rumors, which have been going about for months. Oh, and one last thing – now the casting is (rumored again) in CHICAGO?!
