Emmy nominee Matt Smith (The Crown, Doctor Who) has been cast to play a key part in the next highly anticipated Star Wars installment Star Wars: Episode IX, Variety has confirmed.
Smith’s role is being kept under wraps, but the actor joins returning cast members Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast of Episode IX are Naomi Ackie (Doctor Who), Richard E. Grant (Gosford Park, Hudson Hawk), Dominic Monaghan (Lost, Lord of the Rings franchise) and Keri Russell (The Americans), who will be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian.
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The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Star Wars: Episode IX began filming at London’s Pinewood Studios on August 1, with J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Trek) returning to direct the final installment of the Skywalker saga. Abrams co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio (Argo, Justice League). Composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Star Wars saga since 1977’s A New Hope, will return to a galaxy far, far away with Episode IX.
The film will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Michelle Rejwan, and executive produced by Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin.
Star Wars: Episode IX is scheduled for release on December 20, 2019.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
