A lot has been happening over at the ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ set! According to the ‘Star Wars’ website, it looks like J.J. Abrams has not only added 2 more people to the cast, but also made a surprising decision to the production schedule for the film.

Although principal photography has already started for ‘Star Wars: Episode VII,’ Abrams is still continuing to cast the film. Not too long ago we reported on the additions of Lupita Nyong’o (’12 Years a Slave,’ ‘Jungle Book’) and Gwendoline Christie (‘Game of Thrones.’ ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2’) to the cast and now it looks like there are 2 more!

If you recall, Lucsfilm and Disney held an open casting call which spanned 11 cities in the US and the UK. Out of the tens of thousands of aspiring hopeful applicants, Abrams has chosen Crystal Clarke and Pip Anderson to become the newest members of the film that takes place “a long long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. “

Crystal Clark and Pip Anderson

According to the press release, “Crystal Clarke is an American actress studying in Glasgow, UK, who has both stage and screen acting experience and is soon to be seen in her first feature, ‘The Moon and the Sun’ (to be released in 2015). British actor Pip Andersen is a skilled practitioner of parkour, a discipline that involves propelling oneself through any given environment with incredible grace and agility. Pip recently demonstrated this remarkable skill in a Spider-Man ad for Sony.”

The casting of relatively unknown actors for the film is not new to the ‘Star Wars’ franchise as Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy explained:

“The Star Wars universe has always been about discovering and nurturing young talent and in casting Episode VII we wanted to remain absolutely faithful to this tradition. We are delighted that so many travelled to see us at the open casting calls and that we have been able to make Crystal and Pip a part of the film.”

Keeping with Abrams’ tradition of withholding information about films he directs, the roles that Clarke and Andersen will be playing was not revealed. However, back in November when we reported on the open casting call for “two major characters,” we also included the descriptions of those roles:

Rachel: Was young when she lost her parents. With no other family, she was forced to make her way in a tough, dangerous town. Now 17, she has become street smart and strong. She is able to take of herself using humor and guts to get by. Always a survivor, never a victim, she remains hopeful that she can move away from this harsh existence to a better life. She is always thinking of what she can do to move ahead.

Thomas: Has grown up without a father’s influence. Without the model of being a man, he doesn’t have the strongest sense of himself, despite that he is smart, capable and shows courage when it is needed. He can appreciate the absurdity in life and understands you can’t take life too seriously.

So it’s quite possible that Clarke will be playing Rachel and Anderson will be playing Thomas (which we are pretty sure will not be the names of the characters when they are on screen).

As exciting as the news of two new actors may be, what isn’t too exciting is the fact that Harrison Ford’s leg injury has caused filming to halt for 2 weeks in August:

In August, the team will take a brief two-week hiatus while adjustments to the current production schedule are made as actor Harrison Ford recovers from a leg injury. Harrison is doing well and is looking forward to returning to the set soon. Shooting remains on track to wrap in the fall with the film scheduled for release on December 18, 2015.

So while Abrams will take those two weeks to rearrange the shooting schedule, it’s nice to know that it will not delay film’s release and fans can still look forward to an early holiday present in December.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on ‘Star Wars’ news so make sure you check back here with us often!