Ever since the announcement of Star Wars Episode VII the biggest talk has been whether or not the original three characters (Luke, Han, and Leia) would return and whether or not they would be played by the original actors. There's also been some back and forth -- Carrie Fisher said yes, she would reprise the role then her publicist said sarcasm is hard to read and that the actress was only joking. Since the very beginning of the Disney buyout we've known Lucas had lunch with Hamill and Fisher and talked about what was coming. Lucas was talking to them about something.
But in a recent interview about the mouse buying Lucasfilm, Lucas outright says the three original actors were signed -- or close to it -- before the purchase. He then backtracks and admits he probably isn't supposed to announce that bit of information and that Disney probably has plans to announce it themselves. He tries to salvage the situation and says he won't discuss whether or not the negotiations were successful.
So there you have it. Luke, Han, and Leia will all be back to some degree. We still don't know whether they'll be important cast members or a brief cameo, though.
Some people think their return is a bad idea. I think we would need to know more about the plot before we can make calls like that. If it's indeed about the Solo children, it makes perfect sense that the original cast is around to at least pass the torch. It may have been 30 years since Jedi, but that doesn't mean Luke can't parallel Alec Guinness's Ben Kenobi (or for that matter, Yoda, as head of the New Jedi Order.) Leia's role that late in the timeline would be mostly diplomatic or political, and who says Harrison Ford can't sit in a cockpit and make dry, sarcastic remarks?
Episode 7 will also be the first film since Jedi that doesn't have an ending in place before you even enter the theater. Prequels and interquels already have designated ending. No, we didn't know exactly what l'il Anakin would go through before becoming a villain, but we knew he would ultimately become one. We knew Padme would die, we knew Kenobi would end up on Tatooine, we knew something would have to happen to prevent C-3PO and R2-D2 from spoiling three films over the course of the following trilogy (beyond the fact that their prior exploits hadn't yet been written.) This is the first time we'll have a cast of new characters doing new things in a new age of the timeline (and I'm only talking movies, so don't come complaining about the details of the Expanded Universe novels, the comics, the video games, or the dozens of new characters created during the Clone Wars TV series.)
In other words, I remain very optimistic about the prospect of a new creative team making a new Star Wars film.
