New STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Set Photos; Episode VIII Star Date; Characters Confirmed

The cover of the latest issue of Vanity Fair features some of the cast of J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens in character. There’s Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Harrison Ford as Han Solo; along with Chewie and BB8. 

Below you’ll find a great batch of new official images from Star Wars: The Force Awakens courtesy of Vanity Fair and they’re quite revealing indeed. It seems J.J. Abrams has decided to let a few items slip free from his “mystery box”, as these stills confirm that it is indeed Adam Driver under the mask of the sinister Kylo Ren. Plus we see Lupita Nyong’o shooting scenes as her still unnamed mo-cap character, possibly Maz Kanata, and a whole host of new aliens and creatures. There’s also a BTS video featuring comments from Abrams and some of the cast.

Now that we have confirmation that Adam Driver would be playing the villainous ‘Kylo Ren’ in the much-anticipated seventh installment in the Star Wars saga. We also got a look at several of Driver’s co-stars, including Lupita Nyong’o filming mo-cap scenes. Now it seems we can tick Gwendoline Christie’s character off of the list of unnamed roles. A new image taken from the Star Wars Vanity Fair issue appears to confirm that she will play “First Order Officer, Captain Phasma”.

Also, @VanityFair introduces Gwendoline Christie (@lovegwendoline) as Captain Phasma! #MayThe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/BPpaASR0DP

— The Force Awakens (@EpisodeVII) May 4, 2015

The British government formally announced Monday that episode eight of the Star Wars franchise will be shot at Pinewood Studios just outside of London.

“Pleased to announce #StarWarsVIII will be filmed here in UK @PinewoodStudios – great news for @starwars fans & our UK creative industries,” tweeted George Osborne, the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, the British equivalent of the secretary of the Treasury. Osborne also trumped up the $152 million (₤100 million) inward investment and 3,000 jobs the production will bring.

The news comes on Star Wars Day (May the Fourth), but also coincidentally a bank holiday Monday in the U.K. Lucasfilm and Disney representatives couldn’t immediately be reached. Pinewood declined to comment.

Episode VIII to be #MadeinBritain, bringing 100m investment and 3,000 jobs here. #MayThe4thBeWithYou

— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) May 4, 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens in theaters December 18, 2015. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, and features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker. The film is being produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk, and John Williams returns as the composer. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga

"Chewie We’re Home"; The Second Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer HAS DROPPED!!

The first full trailer for Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens dropped today during the opening of Star Wars Celebration Live, a four-day orgy of all things Jedi at the Anaheim Convention Center.

“Chewie we’re home.” And yes we are HAN SOLO!!!

The trailer was revealed during the panel, where director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy sat down before a packed crowd. They showed off some of the droids (new and old) and dished about lead actors Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega who showed up onstage to answer fan questions. A bit of clarity on the plot shown here: Isaac plays an X-wing fighter pilot “sent on a mission by a certain princess,” Isaac said today, who meets Boyega’s stormtrooper and “their fates are forever intertwined.”

This is the first shots of the pic since the 88-second teaser that dropped in November as it began playing in North American theaters. It revealed little plot but it did give fans their first real look at stormtroopers, droids, X-wing fighters, that new light saber and the Millennium Falcon.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has a  December 18 release date, followed down the line by at least two more episodes (Star Wars Episode VIII has a May 26, 2017 release date already) and spinoff pics starting with Star Wars: Rogue One (December 16, 2016).

John Boyega Responds To Stormtrooper Haters Plus Andy Serkis Confirmed As Trailer Voice-Over

ABC’s Good Morning America made it a good morning to be a fan of a galaxy far far away today, as the show confirmed what many have been speculating on since the Friday trailer debut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens… Andy Serkis is the voice narrating the teaser.

The show laid to rest those pesky Benedict Cumberbatch rumors (but would not reveal their source), although other sites including HitFix had been confirming Serkis over the weekend, not to mention that fans of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes no doubt recognize the similarity of those signature gravelly pipes to the mighty Caesar. Serkis is currently seeking awards consideration for his motion capture role in Dawn.

While GMA was able to drop easily obtainable tidbits, including how many seconds of actual footage (39 seconds) and how many words (15 words) are in the trailer (which has been viewed by more than 40 million people online in 3-days), Jedi News was able to dig up info on who Serkis is actually playing. The rumor states Serkis actually has TWO roles in The Force Awakens, one a part of a “group of unbelievably athletic and acrobatic motion capture characters” also played by parkour expert Pip Anderson and Crystal Clarke. The other is a “pivotal role in the first act story arc that entwines with Daisy Ridley’s backstory that may have more to it than it seems in the first instance.”

Based on the concept art leaks that have made their way online, we would hazard to guess that this second character may be the small blue turban-sporting alien confronted by Daisy Ridley’s character in several drawings. The nature of the trailer voice and stature of the character could lead us to believe this is a new Yoda-like figure, possibly an ex-Jedi in hiding since Order 66, though that is pure speculation at this point. There’s also been scuttlebutt that Serkis’ studio The Imaginarium has been pioneering new methods of utilizing performance capture for on-set animatronics as opposed to CGI, and this might be one of those characters. 

Finally, the show brought attention to an Instagram posting by John Boyega thanking fans for their support and fan art since the trailer debuted, including a sly knock at the dark side of fandom that has reared its racist head online. 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Anderson, Christina Chong and Miltos Yerolemou, with the J.J. Abrams-directed film debuting in theaters on December 18, 2015.