Which Old Stars are Back in the New Star Wars Movie?

One of the most eagerly anticipated films of all time is Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh episode of the mega-popular franchise. Generations of fans have embraced this ongoing saga. Some grew up with the original trilogy and are now sharing and its offshoots with their kids and, yes, even grandkids. This latest installment is bound to pluck the nostalgic heartstrings of longtime fans as a handful of original cast members are reprising their iconic roles, now 30 years beyond where Return of the Jedi left off. We can’t say we’ll be seeing all of their famous faces on the big screen again, but these are the old-timers who are back in one form or another.

1. Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill shot to super-stardom after playing Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy. However, this iconic role was hard for him to shake, and he hasn’t had much high profile success since. His biggest post Star Wars roles were 1989’s Slipstream, and 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, where he parodied his waning career. He’s kept working in Broadway plays, some television guest roles, a couple of indie films, plus some voice and computer game work (most notably in various Batman products), but he’s primarily done cameos that hark back to his Star Wars fame. Despite claiming that he didn’t want to play Skywalker again, he was convinced to participate in the the new sequel after all. It just wouldn’t be the same without him. Oddly, his face isn’t on the official poster, but Harrison Ford recently teased that’s for a “very good reason.” Ardent fans are dying to know what this enigma means, and speculation about Luke embracing the dark side are running wild.