# Star Wars Episode VII Cast Announced **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295 "2014-04-29T17:46:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/21 "2014-04-30T15:32:36Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > That’s not been my experience. I attend quite a few sci-fi events and have been pleasantly surprised to find the attendance to be more 60/40 m/f. Yes, but how much are they really into it? Meaning can one discuss the intracies of Star Trek warp drive vs. Star Wars hyperspace? From what I’ve seen is women at those events are just more into the costume part of it. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/22 "2014-04-30T16:26:16Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Yes, but how much are they really into it? Meaning can one discuss the intracies of Star Trek warp drive vs. Star Wars hyperspace? > > From what I’ve seen is women at those events are just more into the costume part of it. In all honesty, I can’t tell whether you’re deliberately playing at being a sexist sci fi fan or are genuinely asking those questions. So I’ll just leave it there. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/23 "2014-04-30T16:59:27Z")
I suppose Chewbacca is all gray now. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/24 "2014-04-30T17:04:24Z")
> [@Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](#): > > I hope it is better than Episodes I-III, erm, those… other…uhm spacey, far away place movies, cause they really did some damage to my childhood awe of Episodes IV-VI My sentiments EXACTLY. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/25 "2014-04-30T17:36:36Z")
> [@Miss\_Woodhouse](#): > > Yet once again, a movie so full of men it should go bald from excess testosterone. Does Lucas not even realize there are more than three women in the universe or is he just stupidly stubborn? Two women in a cast of 25. It’s . . . I don’t have any words, just really, really disappointing. ☹ > > It’s quite frustrating for a female science fiction fan and the parent of young female sci fi fans. Really, boys, we are here and we do watch movies. Just in case you haven’t noticed us yet.:rolleyes: [You’re not the only one to make note of this](http://io9.com/hey-star-wars-where-the-hell-are-the-women-1569357077). IMO, there’s plenty of room for more female characters. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/26 "2014-04-30T18:04:22Z")
I really care less about the cast and care more for the story/plot. So this doesn’t affect me all that much. Although I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the first Star Trek movie, and haven’t seen the second one mostly for lack of opportunity, so my hopes are medium-high. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/27 "2014-04-30T18:06:08Z")
Apparently, they have [decided](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2014/04/30/disneys-biggest-star-wars-mistake/) that the Expanded Universe novels, etc., will be non-canon alternate-universe material, as Disney conducts its own build-out of the SW mythos. The article presents this as a significant disappointment, but this is the sort of thing that happens to comic books all the time. Besides, Star Trek novels have always been non-canon, I think. I was never much into the SW side of the house, and I confess that my very general and slightly dismissive view of the Expanded Universe is that it tended to cycle through “Sith arises, gets defeated; Sith arises, gets defeated.” More seriously, I imagine that there was a lot of enjoyable stuff in there, and it will be something of a loss to have it mothballed. Still, Disney’s re-launch may well result in a new and vigorous universe of stories. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/28 "2014-04-30T18:06:13Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > I suppose Chewbacca is all gray now. He calls himself Gumbacca these days. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/29 "2014-04-30T18:23:43Z")
The complaint about (lack of) female roles in movies is fine… but complaining about it in Star Wars is pretty stupid. They’re all aliens, the only ones you can assume are men or women is if, in dialogue, someone says “he” or “she” in reference to them. Otherwise… How do you know Admiral Ackbar isn’t a female? True, the voice was a guy and in the suit was a guy… but was the character male? How do you know? [http://geektyrant.com/news/2010/11/29/star-wars-set-photo-of-greedo-in-high-heels.html](http://geektyrant.com/news/2010/11/29/star-wars-set-photo-of-greedo-in-high-heels.html) Greedo was “Maria” under the rubber. Meaning… not much in the end. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/30 "2014-04-30T18:32:14Z")
Well apparently JJ Abrams has said (basically), wait a sec guys, that’s not the entire cast: > **[‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ Casting: It’s Not Over Yet](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/star-wars-episode-vii-casting-699924/)** > > Daisy Ridley likely will be joined by another actress in a major role, according to sources. > [@](#): > > Several sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that director J.J. Abrams has another substantial role to fill — and it’s a female part. No further details are known. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/31 "2014-04-30T18:40:43Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I hope he DOESN’T do to SW what he did to ST! You’ll have the Force be not real, just con-man tricks, and Luke and Leia’s son will become emperor at age 6. The Force is already a bacterial infection. Sleight-of-hand would be an improvement. > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Apparently, they have [decided](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2014/04/30/disneys-biggest-star-wars-mistake/) that the Expanded Universe novels, etc., will be non-canon alternate-universe material, as Disney conducts its own build-out of the SW mythos. The article presents this as a significant disappointment, but this is the sort of thing that happens to comic books all the time. Besides, Star Trek novels have always been non-canon, I think. Star Trek novels have never been canon in Star Wars, it’s true. 😉 A few more film-geeky friends were quite positive about a few members of the newly announced cast; as for me, I IMDB’d the lot and found that our putative hero was in Attack the Block. I don’t remember anyone in that stinking up the place, so I put that down as a positive. In general, I’m glad that he’s casting unknowns, presumably based on talent rather than attractiveness :rolleyes: or star power. The SW brand has all the draw you need, plus we’ve got the original cast. For the new cast, this is a career making opportunity (if Abrams/Kasdan don’t pull a Phantom Menace on us). ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/32 "2014-04-30T18:45:35Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Well apparently JJ Abrams has said (basically), wait a sec guys, that’s not the entire cast: > > ['Star Wars: Episode VII' Casting: It's Not Over Yet](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-episode-vii-casting-699924) I really hope it’s [Mara Jade](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mara_Jade_Skywalker), or a character that “borrows rather generously” from her character in the books… tho this week’s announcement about the canon might make that less likely. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/33 "2014-04-30T19:07:42Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > The complaint about (lack of) female roles in movies is fine… but complaining about it in Star Wars is pretty stupid. They’re all aliens, the only ones you can assume are men or women is if, in dialogue, someone says “he” or “she” in reference to them. Now that’s just a silly response. Let’s list some Star Wars characters… stop me when I get to one whose gender was ambiguous: Luke Leia Han Chewy Obi-Wan Vader Yoda Lando Emperor Palpatine Qui-gon Padme Jar-Jar Oh, that’s right, _none of them_. So why exactly is it stupid to suggest that in a movie where every character has an obvious gender (except perhaps droid/alien extras) and the boys outnumber the girls by a wide margin, maybe it would have been nice to include more girls? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/34 "2014-04-30T19:11:42Z")
Is Mark Hamill going to play the Emperor? Just think of how much money they could save on [makeup](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Mark_Hamill_2010.jpg)! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/35 "2014-04-30T19:11:54Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > The Force is already a bacterial infection. Sleight-of-hand would be an improvement. I view midichloridians as an EFFECT of being force-sensitive, not the CAUSE. As much as I think about it at all… ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/36 "2014-04-30T19:21:11Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > Now that’s just a silly response. Let’s list some Star Wars characters… stop me when I get to one whose gender was ambiguous: > > Luke > Leia > Han > Chewy > Obi-Wan > Vader > Yoda > Lando > Emperor Palpatine > Qui-gon > Padme > Jar-Jar > > Oh, that’s right, _none of them_. > > So why exactly is it stupid to suggest that in a movie where every character has an obvious gender (except perhaps droid/alien extras) and the boys outnumber the girls by a wide margin, maybe it would have been nice to include more girls? I think you’re missing his point. You specifically skipped his example of Akbar, who could be…anything, gender-wise. As we know little about the ‘aliens’ in the SW universe, Chewie, Jar-Jar and (possibly) Yoda could be female. Or some third gender. For people who speculate about these things, they have speculated that Han a Chewie are a couple. If one doesn’t mind inter-species romance, would they have a problem with inter-species same-sex romance? But to the heart of the matter, there are hardly any OBVIOUS females in the SW universe. There is no doubt about that. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/37 "2014-04-30T19:33:15Z")
Which makes me cautious that JJ Abrahams is the right guy for this. Comparing it to the Star Trek reboot movies is obvious and will continue and the criticism will be fair (imo) until he can prove otherwise, but those movies had barely any female parts at all. There was Uhura but other than that the first one had the green roommate who’s entire purpose was to show us that green paint on a movies screen doesn’t look that great and that Rachel Nichols isn’t a very good actress. The second one had Uhura again and Carol Marcus who’s main purpose is to be the daughter of the bad guy and to show off her underpants. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/38 "2014-04-30T20:06:53Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I think you’re missing his point. You specifically skipped his example of Akbar, who could be…anything, gender-wise. > > As we know little about the ‘aliens’ in the SW universe, Chewie, Jar-Jar and (possibly) Yoda could be female. Or some third gender. For people who speculate about these things, they have speculated that Han a Chewie are a couple. If one doesn’t mind inter-species romance, would they have a problem with inter-species same-sex romance? > > But to the heart of the matter, there are hardly any OBVIOUS females in the SW universe. There is no doubt about that. Right. Okay these are secondary (or tertiary, etc.) characters… what gender of Ewok was Leia’s little friend? For that matter, how many genders of Ewok _are_ there? What was the sex of the Neimodian (who are in _NO WAY_ horribly thinly veiled Asian trader stereotypes) in the prequels? What’s the “obvious gender” of whatever the hell race Lando’s copilot was? What are the “obvious gender” characteristics of Max Rebo, the blue thing playing the piano in Jabba’s palace? Being that the series is (relatively) family friendly, I still maintain the only time you can actually say whether a character is male or female in an alien film is if someone uses a pronoun. Remember, if I can mix franchises… [“That was not his knee. Not everybody keeps their genitals in the same place, Captain.”](http://youtu.be/yB5G0QwRhWg?t=1m8s) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/39 "2014-04-30T20:27:21Z")
“No, there’s plenty of women in this movie! They’re just all repulsive fish people!” I… don’t think that’s making things better. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295/40 "2014-04-30T21:20:06Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “No, there’s plenty of women in this movie! They’re just all repulsive fish people!” > > I… don’t think that’s making things better. Well then you probably wouldn’t like what some people say the Pit of Sarlacc is supposed to be 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-episode-vii-cast-announced/687295.md?page=3)