LUPITA NYONG’O and GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE join the cast of STAR WARS EPISODE VII

Its has now just been announced that actress Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years A Slave) and actress Gwendoline Christie (Game Of Thrones) have officially joined the cast of STAR WARS EPISODE VII.

Check out the full press release from STARWARS.com below:

Lupita Nyong’o joins the recently announced cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. This year, her breakthrough performance in 12 Years a Slave earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Gwendoline Christie, currently starring in the hit television series Game of Thrones as Brienne of Tarth, has also been cast in the production. She can next be seen in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.

“I could not be more excited about Lupita and Gwendoline joining the cast of Episode VII,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “It’s thrilling to see this extraordinarily talented ensemble taking shape.”

Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the Saga Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18, 2015.

Whats interesting is that previous rumors already implicated Lupita Nyong’o joining the cast but as Asajj Ventress, a character made popular in STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS animated TV show.

No word yet on who is playing who, but the further additon of more female actors to the cast will easily stop the backlash of an overly male-centric cast.

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII is currently set to release on December 18, 2015.