Casting JJ Abrams's “Star Wars 7”

Ever since JJ Abrams was announced as the director of Star Wars 7, the internet has been on fire. It's burning higher and hotter than the wave of excitement that existed when Episode 1 was announced. I understand the excitement. JJ Abrams is an amazing writer and director and has a great sense of what makes a great story. He is surrounded by talented writers and producers who he frequently collaborates. I hear Michael Arndt is writing the story which is great because it will be a different flavor from the stories written by his team on Star Trek.

Back in October, before the official cast for SHIELD was introduced, I submitted my choices for the actors who should portray the available parts. The roles went to Chloe Bennet, Brett Dalton, Ming-Na, Elizabeth Henstridge, and Iain De Caestecker.

With the actors I chose still being awesome and all, I thought I would give them a second chance and cast the new Star Wars film with them. Of course I have no idea what the characters names are, the time period it's happening in, or...anything else. I'm just going to create the characters and say who should play that character. I'll leave it up to smarter (much, much smarter) people like JJ Abrams to come up with the particulars.

If JJ Abrams is reading this: Thank you for coming to Comic Con and signing my Alias photo - you rock! Oh...and you're welcome for the inspiration.

Hantii (pronounced HAN-tee): Genevieve Padalecki plays Hantii, a young girl running from a network of organized crime. Her nascent ability to use the Force - to know if someone is lying - is perceived as invaluable to an organization that deals with the scum of the universe every day. Hantii just wants to lead a moral life away from the influence of cruel men and strikes a deal with Nitrun, a bounty hunter, to smuggle her off-world. The bad guys figure out what has happened and put a contract out on both of them. Fortunately Nitrun knows a Jedi elder who loves a good challenge.

Clen (pronounced kl-EHN): Michael Kenneth Williams plays Clen, a Jedi elder sent out into the universe to recruit others strong in the force. A happy, gentle man, Clen has a way of seeing everything in a positive light. He doesn't believe in failure - he believes every hardships is an opportunity. When he meets Hantii, Clen realizes that he has an opportunity to protect her, teach her, and end the constant threat of reprisal from those she escaped from. And Hantii is strong with the Force. Clen will teach Hantii survival, combat skills, and, most importantly, how to build and use a lightsaber.

Nitrun (pronounced NITE-run): Paula Garces plays Nitrun, a fearsome bounty hunter. Because she uses her beauty to get in closer to her subjects (behind her Maldalorian armor, no one knows what she looks like) to capture or kill them. Despite what she does, she doesn't take contracts on people she feels have integrity. When she runs across our heroes, she's rough around the edges but willing to help...for a price. A wealthy woman, Nitrun doesn't do the job for money but to mete out her own form of justice after the death of her parents at the hands of a corrupt politician's security forces.

Amun (pronounced A-moon): Gina Carano plays Amun, a bar owner who also trains the small city's elite guards in combat. A survivor of many battles including the one that wrested her city away from the same corrupt politicians who engineered the deaths of Nitrun's parents, she's ready to fight at any moment. And, while she employs bouncers, Amun doesn't mind throwing the odd customer out personally. One of Clen's dearest friends, she allows him access to the city's training facilities when he needs them for training and allows him, Hantii, and Nitrun to hide in the bar's basement.

Lance Skywalker: Craig Horner plays Lance Skywalker, a descendent of (yup, you guessed it) Anakin Skywalker (you thought I was going to say Luke, didn't you?). As a Skywalker, he's inherited three things, R2-D2 & C-3PO and the Force. While hunting down the source of illegal slave trading in another system, he's contacted by Clen to let him know he has a source, Hantii, who can give Lance the ins and outs of the entire operation because she was a slave. While, Clen, Nitrun, and Amun keep Hantii safe, Lance works to dismantle the operation - lightsaber battles ensue!

Casting Joss Whedon's upcoming SHEILD TV show

The SHIELD television series is still months (a year?) away and we've been salivating at any update. On tvline.com (http://tvline.com/2012/10/01/joss-whedon-s-h-i-e-l-d-casting/) they announced that ABC is casting for a few parts and gave quick character descriptions for each.

I wanted to get in on all of the excitement by casting these roles. First, lets see the character descriptions that tvline.com gave us.

SKYE: This late-20s woman sounds like a dream: fun, smart, caring and confident – with an ability to get the upper hand by using her wit and charm.

AGENT GRANT WARD: Quite the physical specimen and “cool under fire,” he sometimes botches interpersonal relations. He’s a quiet one with a bit of a temper, but he’s the kind of guy that grows on you.

AGENT ALTHEA RICE: Also known as “The Calvary,” this hard-core soldier has crazy skills when it comes to weapons and being a pilot. But her experiences have left her very quiet and a little damaged.

AGENT LEO FITZ and AGENT JEMMA SIMMONS: These two came through training together and still choose to spend most of their time in each other’s company. Their sibling-like relationship is reinforced by their shared nerd tendencies – she deals with biology and chemistry, he’s a whiz at the technical side of weaponry.

Okay - now for my candidates.

Paula Garces as Skye.

Paula is a young woman who started as a child actress and did a number of films before ending up on one of the most intense television shows ever: The Shield (huh...a cast member of The Shield starring on SHIELD? Nice right?). Paula can play "fun, smart, caring and confident" and brings a lot of acting experience to the role. Plus, she was in the Harold & Kumar movies so she knows former Whedon alum, Neil Patrick Harris (Is he an assassin? Is that why he has three names?)

Skye isn't AGENT Skye so Paula is believable playing a former cop or soldier or intelligence agent who is a trainee or recent graduate of SHEILD. Paula Garces is the total package for this project and I've met her at Comic Con so I can tell you she's a sweetheart who is always nice to her fans.

Michael Kenneth Williams as Agent Grant Ward

He's played Roberts on "Alias," a Harlem Bystander in "The Incredible Hulk" and was Professor Marshall Kane on "Community" and those are just the roles I remember seeing. Michael's also done work on a lot of fantastic films and television shows like "The Road" and "Boardwalk Empire."

We need someone who "sometimes botches interpersonal relations" and has "a temper" but is " the kind of guy that grows on you" and Michael fits the bill perfectly. What makes Michael great is that he can make you feel physically threatened or comforted in the same scene. I don't want to make a direct comparison to Mr. T but Michael is the kind of guy whose glare can make you wet yourself but whose smile is infectious. And he has a big scar on his face that screams 'bad ass' and can be a great part of the character's backstory.

Gina Carano as Agent Althea Rice

Gina Carano was Mallory Kane in the film "Haywire." But more importantly, before that she was a successful MMA fighter. If you haven't seen Haywire, check it out - the fighting is amazing. If you have seen Haywire, you know Gina Carano can pull off the description of the character: "Also known as “The Calvary,” this hard-core soldier has crazy skills when it comes to weapons and being a pilot. But her experiences have left her very quiet and a little damaged."

Gina's charisma and natural fighting ability would serve the character. She wouldn't need fight training, just the way she moves tells you that she could take you down in a few seconds. And with her on board, the fight scenes would have less stunt doubles and look more realistic.

Craig Horner as Agent Leo Fitz

Craig Horner was the main character, Richard Cypher on the short-lived show, Legend of the Seeker. As the title character, Richard got to fully develop a character - from going from an immature young man to being a champion, falling in love despite the many obstacles, defeating the big bad, and having to play second string as someone else inherited the champion title. He's very versatile and he can pull off being nerdy in a support role.

Genevieve Padalecki  as Agent Jemma Simmon

Genevieve was Ruby on "Supernatural" and was the main character, Kris Furillo on "Wildfire." Genevieve has also had the opportunity to completely develop a character and has shown great range in doing so. She's also equally good on a family show like Wildfire and a genre show like Supernatural. Genevieve can play nerdy when called upon and I can see her and Craig Horner having a sibling-like relationship.

Despite the face that Agent Leo Fitz and Agent Jemma Simmons are presented together and seem to have support-only roles, remember that SHIELD agents aren't helpless and both Craig and Genevieve are believable fighting back. These are actors who can play unassuming roles and believably take down the occasional bad guy if called upon.