After months of silence, Lucasfilm finally announced the main cast of the forthcoming Star Wars revival, Episode VII, in one explosive sentence Tuesday.

"Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film," read the press release on Starwars.com.

You'll recognize the names of the actors playing Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, Chewbacca and R2-D2 (who was, up until now, the only character officially known to be returning to the franchise). Ford, Fisher and Hamill's participation has been something of an open secret for the last year and a half, ever since George Lucas accidentally mentioned to Bloomberg Businessweek they'd be returning; photos of the trio in London in recent days made the fact even more abundantly clear.

If you're unfamiliar with the other names, you might remember Boyega from 24: Live Another Day, Driver from Girls, Isaac from Inside Llewelyn Davis, Gleeson from About Time and various Harry Potters. Serkis, of course, played the CGI Gollum in Lord of the Rings.

British newcomer Daisy Ridley is the least well known of the new team. You'll know her if you happened to watch the eighth episode of the second season of the PBS show Mr. Selfridge, where she plays a character called Roxy.

And then there's 85-year old Max Von Sydow, the legendary Swedish actor renowned for playing villains such as Emperor Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon — coincidentally enough, the franchise that inspired Lucas to write Star Wars in the first place.

"It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life once again," said Abrams. "We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud."

The Star Wars Episode VII team assembles with director J.J. Abrams. Image: Lucasfilm

The announcement comes just days after Lucasfilm announced that Episode VII would pay no heed to the continuity established in hundreds of novels and comics — effectively wiping the canon clean of everything but the six movies and the Clone Wars TV show.

Chris Taylor is the author of How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, the first complete history of the Star Wars franchise and its fandom. The book releases September 30 and is available for pre-order here.

New Star Wars VII Cast

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