The rumors, it turns out, are true. 12 Years A Slave star and Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o is joining the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. In addition to Nyong'o, Lucasfilm announced today that a familiar face from HBO's Game of Thrones would also appear in director J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Wars film.
Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie (aka Brienne of Tarth) join previously announced cast members Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Andy Serkis and Max von Sydow. Also appearing in the movie will be original Star Wars cast members Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, and Kenny Baker.
"I could not be more excited about Lupita and Gwendoline joining the cast of Episode VII," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement. "It's thrilling to see this extraordinarily talented ensemble taking shape."
What roles the two women will be playing aren't known, but the addition of Nyong'o and Christie addresses earlier complaints from fans about the lack of female characters in the cast for the movie that was announced back in April.
Star Wars: Episode VII is currently filming, with its release scheduled for Dec. 18, 2015. Lucasfilm has not said whether or not this announcement means that the core cast for the movie has been locked, or whether more actors have yet to be cast in the movie.
