Ten Years Ago, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away, the Cast of The Force Awakens Was Announced

Welcome back to a very special edition of 'This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away', coming to you one day later than usual as I didn't want to miss a special The Force Awakens anniversary. But before we get to all that, we'll be recapping the news from this past week, which started rather slow but then started to build up. More headlines coming in the next few hours.



The Bad Batch will wrap its three-season run this coming Wednesday, and we're talking all about episode 14 in last Thursday's SWNN Live! Sydney also wrote a great review for the penultimate episode here. May the Fourth is now on the horizon, and all six episodes of Tales of the Empire will drop then. Another trailer for The Acolyte is also in the pipeline, and it could arrive either during the weekend (a behind-the-scenes reel will be attached to screenings of The Phantom Menace) or early next week. On Saturday, North American theaters will be playing a nine-movie Star Wars marathon, but for those staying at home, the fourth annual fundraiser Podathon will be collecting donations for Make-A-Wish.


<h2>Three Things That May Have Flown Casual</h2>

• That's a name I haven't heard in a looong time: This week brought a bunch of headlines from projects that haven't really been in the news cycle for a while. We had Hayden Christensen talking about his transformation into Darth Vader for Obi-Wan Kenobi, as part of the promotional push for the physical media release of the series (Andor also got some love). We also had Rosario Dawson make a non-statement about Ahsoka season 2. And we had Kerry Condon saying how playful and fun Skeleton Crew turned out.
• Toy news: Hasbro revealed new figures from Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and The Mandalorian, while Hot Toys unveiled a bunch of new Dark Side-centric additions to their Star Wars line. In semi-related news, a new Mandalorian board game from legendary board game designer Corey Konieczka was announced.
• Comic review time: New comic releases last week include Jango Fett #2 (which Josh reviewed here), Darth Maul: Black, White &amp; Red #1 (read Jay's review here), and The High Republic Adventures #5 (also reviewed by Jay here).

Skeleton Crew at Star Wars Celebration. Series coming to Disney Plus in 2024.



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<h2>Coming Up Next...</h2>


Before I introduce the main event, I want to highlight some of the upcoming Star Wars projects that got some updates this week. As mentioned earlier, coming up this Saturday we have Tales of the Empire, which dropped its first full clip this past week. It features an encounter between Morgan Elsbeth and General Grievous, and you can check it out here.



We also got confirmation that The Acolyte not only will introduce Vernestra Rwoh in live-action, but it will also feature her iconic lightwhip from the books and comics. The series drops its first two episodes on June 4, and is about to start ramping up the promotional campaign. As mentioned, a new trailer is no more than 10 days away, I believe.



Later this summer, Star Wars: Outlaws is coming out. Last week we covered new screenshots and some quotes from members of the development team highlighting the Ashiga Clan, a new crime syndicate created specifically for the game, along with other production details.



And last but certainly not least, with Star Wars Celebration Japan tickets going on sale this Thursday, Lucasfilm posted an early look at the merch that will also be available for purchase then. If by any chance you have a spare VIP pass, get in touch!









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<h2>The Cast Announcement of The Force Awakens Turns Ten Years Old</h2>


On October 30, 2012, Bob Iger announced that The Walt Disney Company would be acquiring Lucasfilm Ltd. from Star Wars creator and the company's founder, George Lucas. It was probably one of the biggest announcements in the history of entertainment in the 21st century. Though the latest years have seen some struggle, and the overall enthusiasm for the franchise is falling off a cliff, no one can deny that the excitement that followed that announcement in 2012 for the next three years was unprecedented.



That's because the announcement had a second part: in addition to buying the company, Disney was committing to making one Star Wars movie a year starting in 2015 with the first installment of a brand-new trilogy. A sequel trilogy, if you will. During the following 18 months, rumors and speculation reached heights never before imagined on the Internet. StarWarsNewsNet.com was born on that day, and it reached its highest heights during those first three years.



A lot happened in those 18 months, and we can probably learn a lot from how Lucasfilm handled them. But we're not here to discuss that today. After a year of putting together Episode VII with two creative teams (Michael Arndt, then succeeded by JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan), and loads of rumors and speculation about who might be in the film, Lucasfilm finally announced the main cast for Episode VII (the title had not been revealed yet) on April 29, 2014. Ten years ago, today. (For fun, here is our article covering it, but make sure to scroll through the April 2014 library to go down memory lane reading some of those headlines and stories.)







Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker were confirmed by Disney to be part of the cast, but the list did not stop there. On that day, we first learned about the name Daisy Ridley. Other cast members like Adam Driver and Andy Serkis had leaked earlier to the press, but oddly enough, nobody knew the name of the actress that would actually lead these films. Moreover, we didn't even know she was going to be the lead until the promotion for the movie started to roll out.



Much has been said already about how the sequels turned out, but today, I'd like to look back at that time with a smile on my face. To think about the hype that surrounded this movie. This post on StarWars.com. 'We start shooting in a couple of weeks', said JJ in a statement. We sort of knew something was happening behind the scenes because of media reports, but this was the day it felt real. It felt tangible. Will Star Wars movies go back to those levels of anticipation ever again? Absolutely not. There was just something truly special that surrounded The Force Awakens that we will not be able to replicate.



Back in those days, fans were mostly excited about the original trio returning, but when I look back at the cast of The Force Awakens, they come in fifth place. I think about Daisy Ridley breaking out in Hollywood as a 22-year-old. I think about John Boyega fulfilling his lifelong dream. I think about the early days of Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver, two of our best actors working today, and who we were so lucky to have in Star Wars.



Daisy Ridley and John Boyega in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.



And yeah, maybe then I think about Mark Hamill. Today, I don't want to make the case of whether it should be this way or not. I am a fan of the decision to put the old guard as a supporting cast, but I understand that others do not feel the same way. That's fine. But I love the fact that so many people came into Star Wars because of the young blood in it. That's not a knock on Mark Hamill, who is the biggest ambassador of the franchise in the world, and probably the second person we owe the most to as fans. But just as so many young people went to see Star Wars back in 1977 because it felt fresh for the time, the same happened in 2015 because we had Daisy Ridley and John Boyega at the forefront.



Looking back at this cast, it's impossible not to think about the negativity that would wait for them in the following years, and I mostly feel sorry for that. I think that when they themselves look back at this moment, they also have mixed feelings about it. But I hope that this changes in the future, and much like Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor got a second chance with the fandom, they also get to meet the people they inspired growing up. I look at April 29, 2014, as an era-defining moment for the franchise. Disney may have bought the company in 2012, but it was this day that those plans they used to talk about kicked into high gear.



10 years later, we have up to seven feature films announced and are less than two months away from a new one starting to shoot. Neither The Mandalorian &amp; Grogu nor New Jedi Order will generate this buzz, but maybe together we can learn from our wins and also failures as a fandom these past 10 years, and try to improve how we react to the next wave of Star Wars films.



Premiere Of Star Wars: The Force Awakens



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