Some 17 months ago, Disney bought Lucas Films and announced that there would be an additional three films added to the Star Wars universe. Since then, rumors have been abound about who will get cast, who will get left out,  along with countless other anticipations and rumors.

But today, we finally have a bit of solidarity because Director, J.J. Abrams, released the cast for Star Wars VII with many new faces but also some familiar faces.

Items of note:

-Harrison Ford is back to reprise his role of Han Solo. It’s the franchise that catapulted his career into a household name, still decades later. We all know Harrison doesn’t really care about acting in his older age, but something tells me he will take this franchise seriously.

-Carrie Fisher is back. Hoping she sobers up for this role and takes it a chance to make a real comeback as she’s never really done anything outside of the Star Wars realm.

-Mark Hamill. How could you not have him in this movie?

-Andy Serkis is one of the new faces that I couldn’t be more excited about! You may know him of Gollum fame from Lord of the Rings/Hobbit fame. It will be interesting to see what side he plays on. But man, he could be such an asset to the Dark Side.

Rest of the cast includes: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Director J.J. Abrams, who also co-wrote the script for Star Wars VII with Lawrence Kasdan, said,

“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.”

Star Wars VII is set 30 years after Return of the Jedi and begins shooting in May for a December 18th, 2015 release date.