Star Wars: Episode VII: Driver's Role & Lawson Says "No"

When word first broke that Girls co-star Adam Driver was in the mix for a role in J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode VII"--it was suggested he was playing a villain - possibly a Sith.

The site Jedi News claims that Driver is actually playing is actually playing the son of Han Solo
(Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher).

The report suggests that Adam's character is not a Sith, but he does get seduced by the dark side (shades of like his grandfather Anakin Skywalker) and much of this first film's main plot revolves around attempts by the original trio of cast members to save the character.

Meantime actor  Denis Lawson, who played Rebel Alliance pilot Wedge Antilles in the original trilogy says that he will not be returning for "Episode VII"

The character has achieved a cult following over the years, and Abrams had offered Lawson a part. However, the actor turned it down. He explained to The Courier:

"I'm not going to do that....They asked me but it just would have bored me."

Lawson previously stated he would only return if he was offered a substantially bigger role than his part in the first three films.

Lawson has another connection to the "Star Wars" universe - in real life his nephew played the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Prequel Trilogy  actor Ewan McGregor.

Original Trilogy stars Mark Hamill Ford, Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker will be back.

Franchise creator George Lucas told Bloomberg Businessweek that he begun talks with original stars to have them return to for its new films -- before he had even begun the process of the ultimately $2 billion deal and sale. It's been said that Lucas' actually spent about a year planning the franchise's future before handing the reigns of Lucasfilm over to Disney.

The new cast members are John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and  Max von Sydow as a villain character.

There is at least one more major female role left to fill and it has been suggested Ridley is playing the daughter of Han and Leia. That would suggest the female role yet to be cast is the one rumored to be a mixed-race descendant of Obi-Wan Kenobi - a role  12 Years a Slave Best Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong'o was linked to.

Disney/Lucasfilm haven't revealed any character details at all however, so which of the newcomers is playing which roles is all speculation at this point.

 Abrams wrote the script with Lawrence Kasdan for the film. Oscar winner Michael Arndt ("Toy Story 3," "Little Miss Sunshine") vacated his job scripting the next film--after disagreements over which characters the film will focus on.

Kasdan ("The Empire Strikes Back," "Raiders of the Lost Ark") and Simon Kinberg ("Sherlock Holmes," "X-Men: Days of Future Past")have reportedly closed deals to pen the final two installments of the new "Star Wars" trilogy. Kasdan and Kinberg are also indeed writing the stand alone/origin Star Wars features. Company CEO Robert A. Iger recently revealed that the studio has three features in the works - not two as previously indicated.

The plan is to have each of these films come out in the years when we don't see a new episode of the saga - They would come out in 2016, 2018 and 2020. We still don't know which characters these spin-offs will focus on. Current franchise chief, Kathleen Kennedy spoke to Yahoo about the stand-alone films saying that they will NOT affect the main narrative of the Episodes.

The series MVP composer John Williams is set to score Episode VII, Episode VIII and Episode IX.

Kasdan and Kinberg would also join the projects as producers with Kennedy.

Things kicked off in Abu Dhabi. Shooting will continue there through until the end of the month--the country is standing in for the planet of Tatooine in the film.

Production will also take place through September at Pinewood Studio in England.

The film has a confirmed release date of December 18, 2015.