While filming on Disney’s Star Wars Episode VII is halted to give Harrison Ford time to get back to the action after broken his leg on set, the production has taken the time to announce more news about the cast for the film. Open auditions have been taking place in 11 cities throughout the US and UK to find the next new faces to add to the cast and now they’ve been announced as relatively unknown actors Pip Andersen and Crystal Clarke who are probably so made up with their new starring roles that they’re already channeling the power of Yoda’s and Luke’s lightsabre combined.
With more than 67,000 applications and 37,000 hopefuls that made it into the mix for the auditions themselves, they had a fair amount of competition to get down to the last two, but now they’ve been confirmed they’ll be making their way to filming, which should be restarting shortly. The film is being shot at Pinewood Studios in London at the moment, following the wrap of location shooting in Abu Dhabi in May.
Pip and Crystal may not be all that recognisable right now, but it won’t be long before they’re both household names, especially after the film’s release on the 18th December 2015. Their casting continue the tradition of taking on unknown actors for Star Wars films, which started with the very first film, which propelled Mark Hamil and Carey Fischer to superstardom when they were cast as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.
Pip Andersen is a parkour free running expert, having recently shown off his skills in a Spider-Man ad, so we’re expecting his character to look and move a lot like the central characters from the Assassin’s Creed games series. Crystal Clarke, on the other hand, is an American actress currently studying in Glasgow, so she’s probably better prepared for cold, grey winters than jumping across roof tips, but maybe she’ll pick up some tips from Pip during filming.
Star Wars Episode 7 isn’t the only film Clarke has got coming out in 2015, as her movie debut, The Moon And The Sun, is also out next year. It sees her starring alongside Pierce Brosnan (A Long Way Down) in a film about King Louis XIV and his bid for immortality through the life force of a captured Mermaid, which sounds a bit on the mental side.
The announcement of Pip and Crystal comes hot on the heels of another recent casting news release confirming both Lupita N’yongo (12 Years A Slave) and Game Of Thrones actress Gwendoline Christie as a part of the cast – read more at our 12 Years A Slave stars plan next big roles in Marching Powder film and Star Wars Episode VII page.
They all add to the rest of the new additions to the cast list that includes John Boyega (Attack The Block), Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Andy Serkis (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes), Domhnall Gleeson (Dredd), and Max von Sydow.
For anyone that doesn’t already know, the 7th installment in the series will also feature original cast members, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill as Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, along with Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker who voice C3-PO, Chewbacka and R2-D2.
