No word yet on who she’s playing, but Christina Chong has joined the burgeoning cast of J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII. She’s best known for acting opposite Kiefer Sutherland in this summer’s 24: Live Another Day miniseries, and also recently landed the lead female role in the digital series Halo: Nightfall. The actress should be a familiar face to British TV viewers as well, having appeared in Doctor Who, Monroe, Whitechapel and Black Mirror. She’s also had roles in the films W.E. and Legacy.
Chong joins a cast that includes Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Max von Sydow, Pip Andersen and Crystal Clarke.
Interestingly, the actress posted the following tweet over a month ago, and yet news of her casting is only coming out now:
“@bad_robot: #dayone pic.twitter.com/Hi0epiG4wO” Very cool!! #VII
— Christina Chong (@ChrissyChong) May 16, 2014
Kudos to Lucasfilm for keeping her casting under wraps for so long – though the fact that this news is coming out now could suggest it’s less than accurate. We’ll keep you posted on whether an official confirmation or denial surfaces out of the Star Wars camp, but I certainly hope this news turns out to be true. It’s exciting that diversity is finally coming to the galaxy far, far away, and Chong’s casting just widens the series’ cast of characters that much more.
Star Wars: Episode VII will hit theaters December 18th, 2015. Details about the blockbuster are still being kept under wraps, and it’s extremely difficult to say whether any of what we’ve heard scooped on the web is actually true. As always though, we’ll let you know when we get something official.