Three Big Names Were Missing From The ‘Star Wars Episode VII’ Announcement
Now that we’ve had a few hours todigest and discussthe names of actors who are part ofStar Wars Episode VII, we figured it was worth looking at a few major names that weren’t mentioned.StarWars.Com releaseda very short and sweet announcement of the cast and crew, but three major names were oddly, or maybe predictably, absent. They were originalEpisode VIIscreenwriterMichael Arndt, series creator and consultantGeorge Lucasand hero of the rebellion,Billy Dee Williams. We’ll break down the missingStar Warsnames below.
Billy Dee Williams
Only two people have ever blown up a Death Star: Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian. One is inStar Wars Episode VIIand, so far, the other is not. Sure Mark Hamill is about 15 years younger than Billy Dee Williams but Lando finishedReturn of the Jedias one of the primary leaders of the the Rebellion. Odds are, he’d still be around 20-30 years later. Not seeing his name alongside the rest of the original cast was a huge surprise but, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t play some small role.
George Lucas
This is by far the most surprising omission. Lucas obviously created the franchise, directed four of the six in canon films and built the entire story. He was said to be"constantly talking"with writer/director J.J. Abrams at one point (butnot at another point) and his outlines for a sequel trilogy were a major selling point when Disney bought Lucasfilm in October 2012. However,rumor had it Lucas wantedthis film to see the original characters in smaller roles and Abrams disagreed. Maybe at that point, Lucas more fully embraced his desire to transition away from Lucasfilm (hence Kathleen Kennedy’s inclusion in the photo). Either way, shouldn’t he at least be mentioned on this occasion?
Michael Arndt
After Disney bought Lucasfilm, the first official announcement we heard aboutStar Wars Episode VIIwas Michael Arndtwould be writing the screenplay. That screenplay reportedly centered on the kids of original characters Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, as outlined by Lucas himself. However, onceAbrams and Lawrence Kasdan took over, Arndt was reportedly pushed out and little is known how much of his screenplay remains. Vague rumors have been floating around about him sticking with the franchise forEpisode VIIIor something else, but that’s not even close to confirmed and his involvement in the final version ofEpisode VIIis seemingly non-existant.
Now are any of these omissions something to be worried about? No. Arndt makes sense, Lucas and Williams slightly less so, but you’ll never be able to separate their impact on the Star Wars Universe. And J.J. Abrams knows that. Plus, confirmed and essential pieces to the puzzle like John Williams and Ben Burtt aren’t in the photo (or maybe there are, there are some cut off people at the very bottom). Basically though, not everyone who is going to makeStar Wars Episode VIIgood or bad got a shout out today.
Who else were you surprised not to see in the announcement?
EDIT: Some wishlist suggestions: Denis Lawson, Warrick Davis, Frank Oz, Ian McDiarmid, Jeremy Bulloch, Ahmed Best. Maybe not that last one.
