Production on Star Wars: Episode VII is well-underway, with director J.J. Abrams working alongside a cast of newcomers and seasoned veterans who first traveled to a galaxy far, far away many years ago. It appeared as though all of the main players in the film had been officially confirmed nearly two months back, with the announcement that Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie are part of the Episode VII cast; since then, we've gotten confirmation of additional folk, in the shapes of youngsters Crystal Clarke and Pip Andersen, who are presumably members of the film's supporting ensemble.
Today, Latino Review has broken the story that Christina Chong - who just played a recurring role in the 24: Live Another Day TV series - is a member of the Episode VII cast, and Variety's sources are likewise reporting that Chong is a member of Abrams' Star Wars acting team. The London-born Chong's geek credentials also include an appearance on the Doctor Who S6 episode "A Good Man Goes to War"; more noteworthy, however, will be her upcoming lead role in the Ridley Scott-produced Halo digital feature, Halo: Nightfall.
Variety's sources are claiming that Chong is playing a "minor role" in Episode VII, which is to be expected given how late she's arriving in the game. Then again, it's possible that her character in Abrams' Star Wars movie will become more important in a later installment - such as Episode VIII, which is being developed by filmmaker Rian Johnson (Looper). Since we know little to nothing about the plot of Abrams' film right now, your guess about Chong's role is as good as ours.
Disney and Lucasfilm won't be bringing Episode VII to the International Comic-Con next week, and have instead elected to use this 'Con to promote the first new canonical addition to the Star Wars universe - the Star Wars Rebels animated TV series, to be exact. It's certainly possible that there will be direct connections between certain events and/or characters feature in both the Rebels show and Episode VII (see: rumors about the villains in Rebels), but as of right now we can only provide more hearsay, not clear insight on that matter.
Still, with so many fresh-faced up and comers having been hired to become citizens of the Star Wars galaxy - a place that, like the Marvel Avengers universe, is rapidly becoming a playing ground to a far more diverse group of humans - it's clear that we'll be moving forward, not backwards, with these news TV shows and movies. So, here's to all us Star Wars fans having a lot to look forward to in the months/years ahead.
Star Wars: Episode VII opens in theaters on December 18th, 2015.
Source: Latino Review, Variety