Opinion: When to Expect Star Wars Episode VII Casting Announcements

By: Dominic Jones

It has been 366 days now since Star Wars Episode VII was announced.  That means that for 366 days people have been wondering about the cast of the film.  That's approximately 8,784 hours, that's a long time.  So it's natural for fans to want announcements.  I'm as guilty as the next guy when it comes to making wrong predictions about when Episode VII casting news would come.  But before we move forward, let's look back at some of the false starts of the past year (there is a point to all this so bear with me):

• May the 4th - This seemed like a logical time to announce something like the return of the original cast, Mark Hamil, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford.  Especially since Lucasfilm has used this sacred holiday in the past to make announcements and release new content.  What we got:  A new Clone Wars Bonus Content preview clip, and a few Celebration Europe announcements.
• San Diego Comic Con - The biggest stage in the world for geek related news.  Star Wars has a history with SDCC going back to 1978, so it might seem poetic to make the first announcement there.  What we got:  A post on StarWars.com a week before the Con saying there would be no news.
• Star Wars Celebration Europe - Lucasfilm's official convention!  A way to reward the fans for their dedication and bring more attention to the event (and possibly drive up numbers for future Celebrations).  What we got:  Ok, this one's pretty cool.  Confirmation that John Williams will be scoring Episode VII!  At last, something concrete!  But still no cast....
• D23 Expo - Disney owns Lucasfilm now, how great a way would it be for them to draw attention to their own convention by making the big announcement there?  What we got: Disney Chairman Alan Horn was booed off the stage for not making any announcements.
• October 30th - The one year anniversary of the sale to Disney and announcement of Episode VII, how perfect, how poetic, it was almost too good to be true!  What we got: Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  Turns out it was too good to be true.

It has been a full year now since the announcement and practically every logical day for a casting announcement has come and gone.   But maybe that's just it.  Maybe we, as fans, are spending too much time looking for logical dates.  What was the biggest announcement relating to Episode VII?  I would argue it was the fact that Episode VII is actually happening!  And what day did that come on?  October 30th!  A day that means practically nothing to Star Wars fans!  Looking at the Wookieepedia article about October 30th (yes, that's actually a thing!) there was nothing of significance prior to last year.  A couple of book releases, but nothing more.  It had no significance to Star Wars, Disney, George Lucas, or anyone remotely related to the film.

So, maybe we need to stop expecting Episode VII announcements and just let them happen when they happen.  I wish we knew more about the film, I really do, but hyping ourselves up based on nothing more than speculation and then complaining when then doesn't pan out helps no one.  Just remember this word, a word that has been used by everyone from Master Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi to Darth Sidious himself, "Patience."

So, when exactly will the announcements come?  Beats me.

But then again, I'm probably wrong.

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization