Star Wars: How Would You Recast the New Trilogy?

With the announcement that there will be a new trilogy of Star Wars films coming soon from Disney and Lucasfilm, comes the inevitable question about the casting.Unlike the previous trilogy of follow-ups, which delved into the past of the movies’ universe, meaning that the need to recast existing roles was fairly minimal, and when they did so it was usually with characters substantially younger than the previous actors–who were, in turn, fifteen or twenty years older than they had been when they started the whole endeavor, so it only made sense to get rid of them.This time around, it’s not as clear what to do; the announcement is that Star Wars Episode VII will be the first of a trilogy that will begin coming to theaters in 2015. Persistent rumors have suggested that, once again, Luke Skywalker and his sister Leia will be key players in the story. And, not surprisingly, what started as a question (“Will they use the same actors?“) has become a fervent hope for some fans.But let’s assume for a minute that, as has been suggested, the actors from the original Star Wars trilogy are still too old to play their characters in this new movie. If Luke and Han are out there swashbucking and butt-kicking, it’s hard to imagine Mark Hamill out there facing down a hot young actor in a lightsaber duel.Not that it’s impossible, mind you–Christopher Lee did alright as Count Dooku in his limited battle sequences in the prequel trilogy.