'Star Wars: Episode 7' Release Date, Cast and Trailer: 'SNL' Spoofs 'The Force Awakens' Video Teaser [Watch]
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" debuted its first trailer on November 28. The 88-second sneak peek "has amassed more than 44 million YouTube views" and briefly featured new faces, including John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac, Business Insider reports.
Spinoff Online, however, writes that the stars of the original films of the sci-fi franchise--Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill--are noticeably absent from the trailer.
In a recent episode of "Saturday Night Live" hosted by James Franco, the absence of the main characters was addressed. In one of its sketches, the show made a spoof trailer of exactly how the aging characters, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker will look like in the 2015 "Star Wars" movie, 30 plus years after the latest installment "Return of the Jedi."
Princess Leia, originally portrayed by Fisher, was reimagined by "SNL" cast member Bobby Moynihan as an older woman wearing eye glasses. Ford's Han Solo (parodied by Taran Killam) now has a hearing disability and is mildly confused. Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill and parodied by Franco, "now has a lightsaber walker and a thyroid problem," Business Insider noted. Lastly, the parody trailer featured Peter Mayhew's Chewbacca being forced to wear a surgery cone.
Watch the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" parody below by "SNL."
'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Release Date and Casting News
Aside from Boyega, Ridley, and Isaac, Mirror reports that the film will also feature original cast members Ford, Fisher, Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Mayhew, and Kenny Baker. Other actors in the cast are Adam Driver, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max Von Sydow, Gwendoline Christie (of "Game of Thrones"), and Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o.
The film is written and directed by J.J. Abrams, with Kathleen Kennedy and Bryan Burk producing. Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote the screenplay, Star Wars.com reports.
"We are so excited to finally share the cast of 'Star Wars: Episode VII.' It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again," Abrams told Star Wars.com back in April.
The plot is set 30 years after 1983's "Episode 6: Return of the Jedi," which ended with the death of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, Mirror notes. "Return of the Jedi" showed Han Solo finally get together with Princess Leia, who was revealed as Luke Skywalker's sister. The plot of "The Force Awakens" will put the characters in their 50s, which will go along with the original actors' current ages.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is slated to be released in theaters on December 18, 2015.