Is The Star Wars: Episode 7 Cast Sexist?

The official cast list for ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ was announced yesterday via a simple post on StarWars.com. A host of new names will join the cast of old to, as the announcement put it, "bring this world to life."

After the dust settled, and the facts were digested, some commenters began to speak up about a lack of diversity in JJ Abrams’ new acting line up.

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Forbes distilled the problem succinctly with the headline “The New ‘Star Wars’ Cast: Mostly White Guys”. Vanity Fair asked “Couldn’t they have done better?”, and Daily Dot got straight to the point asking “Where are the women in the new ‘Star Wars’ cast?”.

Before we jump to conclusions, let’s take in the facts…

How many female actors will be in Star Wars: Episode 7?

Seven new names will join the established cast of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.

That’s 13 actors, and only two of them are female. Carrie Fisher returns as Princess Leia while newcomer Daisy Ridley is the other female actor in the cast.

Obviously you can’t make a blockbuster with just 13 actors. So don't be surprised if more names are added to the list over the coming weeks.

Will there be more leading roles for female characters though?

The Hollywood Reporter revealed yesterday that the casting announcements were “not over yet”.  They have it from several sources that JJ Abrams has another “substantial role” to fill, and a female one at that.

This would tie in with previous reports which linked Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o and unknown Brit Maisie Richardson-Sellers with parts. Could they be competing for the same role, or has the part been written out now?

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It has long been suggested that the film would feature a female protagonist, after all, both previous trilogies featured a female lead in Princess Leia and Padme Amidala.

But is one female character enough in the modern era? Surely a sci-fi fantasy world like 'Star Wars’ shouldn’t have to suffer the same big-screen inequalities that other blockbusters struggle with, right?

Hasn’t JJ Abrams been accused of sexism before?

JJ Abrams' last film ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ landed him in trouble for having a male-dominated cast.

The ’Star Trek’ sequel had just two female leads, one of whom - Carol Marcus, played by Alice Eve - inexplicably stripped down to her underwear in one particularly gratuitous scene, that drew heavy criticism from all corners.

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His previous films have featured largely male casts too including the ‘Star Trek’, ‘Super 8’, and even ‘Mission Impossible III’ to a certain extent.

However, Abrams’ impressive TV output demonstrates the film-maker isn’t averse to diversity in his casts with his shows ‘Felicity’, ‘Alias’, ‘Six Degrees’, ‘Lost’, and more recently ‘Fringe’ all featuring multiple lead female characters.

What about the racial diversity?

Again, out of the 13 cast members, only two are non “white guys”. John Boyega is British with his family originallyhailing from Nigeria, while Oscar Isaac has a latin background with folks from Guatemala and Cuba.

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The original 'Star Wars’ struggled with diversity, with Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian added to the franchise in ‘Empire Strikes Back’. The prequel trilogy fared a little better thanks to the presence of Samuel L Jackson as Jedi Mace Windu.

If Lupita Nyong’o or Maisie Richardson-Sellers were added to the line-up, it would go a long way to improving the diversity of the cast which ,when you look at the facts, is looking pretty white right now.

What are the positives?

One thing JJ Abrams can’t be accused of is ageism. All of the returning cast are over 50, with one new cast member Max Von Sydow clocking in at a spritely 85.

Yes, the cast are older because their characters are older, but where people complained that the prequels were aimed at kids, the same accusation can’t be leveled at ‘Episode 7’ if the cast list is anything to go by.

What do you think? Does the ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ cast lack diversity? Let us know below.

‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ is about to start shooting in the UK and will hit cinemas 18 December, 2015.