Gwendoline Christie has been in acting since 2007, but she got her big break when she was cast as Brienne of Tarth in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Now she’s joining another major media property.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Christie has been cast as an unannounced character in the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII. Alongside Christie, Lucasfilm also announced that Lupita Nyong’o has joined the cast of the latest Star Wars film. Like most of the cast of Star Wars Episode VII, both actresses are relative newcomers with Nyong’o having starred in only two films thus far. Her most recognizable role came in 2013’s 12 Years A Slave as Patsey.
“I could not be more excited about Lupita and Gwendoline joining the cast of Episode VII,” said Lucasfilm president and Episode VII producer Kathleen Kennedy. “It’s thrilling to see this extraordinarily talented ensemble taking shape.”
In late April, Lucasfilm announced the primary cast for Star Wars Episode VII. At that time, it was revealed that Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher would be reprising their roles of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia respectively. Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew will also be returning as C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca.
Alongside the returning actors, Lucasfilm said that it would be adding a large number of newcomers to the cast, including John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow and Andy Serkis. Beyond well-known actors like Serkis and von Sydow, most of the cast is comprised of newcomers in the acting business. With this latest addition, Star Wars Episode VII only reaffirms its dedication to sticking to relative newcomers, just as the original trilogy did.
Unfortunately, we don’t know who Christie or Nyong’o will be playing in the upcoming role. In fact, we don’t know who a lot of the new actors and actresses will be playing in the upcoming film. Lucasfilm and Disney have remained rather quiet about the new film. Instead, they’re slowly trickling out information to keep interest in the film high as we move closer to its late 2015 release.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
