SPOILER WARNING: Though the photos below have not been released or confirmed by Disney or Lucasfilm, they are considered to be mild spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Star Wars Episode 7 News has leaked what appear to be photos of three characters from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The first follows the footsteps of an important division of the Rebel Alliance (now The Resistance), while the other two are familiar friends.
The first character is a Resistance pilot, possibly named Gorwyn, portrayed by actor Greg Gunberg (Heroes). Check out his picture below.
Next, we have a “buddy” of Lando Calrissian’s from Return of the Jedi, Nien Nunb.
And finally, Admiral Ackbar of “It’s a trap!” fame.
Here’s what Star Wars Episode 7 News had to say about Grunberg’s character, information that they say came from Grunberg himself.
"He has signed for three movies.He shot for 7 weeks in London at Pinewood.He is not a CG character.He has facial hair.He has no prosthetics.He never read the whole script. It was on red paper.There will be an action figure with his character.The actors had to wear cloaks while walking towards the set."
The site also says the this new character will be spending most of his time in his X-Wing (think Wedge Antilles, who spent most of his screentime in the cockpit of his X-Wing).
If these photos are indeed from official Episode VII photo sessions, as Star Wars Episode 7 News is claiming, then I think it is surprising as well as fun to know that Nien Nunb and Admiral Ackbar will be returning to Star Wars in the sequel trilogy. I hadn’t really expected them to, I suppose because I figured “less is more” would be the mantra with regard to bringing characters from the original trilogy into the sequel trilogy.
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Nien Nunb, of course, was Lando Calrissian’s copilot on the Falcon on the mission to destroy the Second Death Star; judging by his past experience with space combat and the bright orange color of his shirt, he may be involved with Resistance pilots in some way (perhaps he’s the leader of the starfighter division, so to speak). Bringing in Ackbar absolutely makes sense, as he was a leader of the Rebel Alliance and would be likely to be involved in any reforming it might undergo in taking on the title of The Resistance.
As for Grunberg’s character, he will likely become a household name for many Star Wars fans, joining such infamous Rebel pilots as Wedge Antilles, Jek Porkins, and Biggs Darklighter.
Again, none of these photos have been officially confirmed as being legitimate. Stay tuned to Dork Side for further developments.