Earlier today the Star Wars community exploded like the Death Star as casting news for Episode VII was released via www.starwars.com. The lineup includes original trilogy stars such as Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker. Added to the cast are actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Any Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow.

Director of the upcoming film, J.J. Abrams says, “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. We start shooting in a couple of weeks and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

Fans will probably notice that Billy Dee Williams is mysteriously absent from the list of announced cast. We reached out to Mr. Williams on Twitter and he had the following to say:

The implication here would be that Mr. Williams was not invited to participate in Episode VII, but that has yet to be officially confirmed.

Make sure to check out www.starwars.com for the full story and details. Keep the conversation going and share your thoughts with us online. We can be found at @chewbacca89 (Alex Rybak) and@yodasnews (Official Yoda’s News handle)