Why do so many people think Benedict Cumberbatch is in “Star Wars”?
I know he's omnipresent in pop culture right now, and I know he worked with JJ Abrams, but at no point has anyone reported that Cumberbatch is part of the new movies, so I find it really confusing when people angrily insist that he has to be the person narrating the first trailer for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
For the record, that is Andy Serkis you hear in the trailer. I was able to verify this, although I was not able to uncover any further information about the role he plays. Here's what I do know, though. He's playing a pivotal role in the film, although he will not have a lot of screen time.
Look, I understand why there was some debate about the voice-over today. We've never really heard that voice come out of Serkis before. By now, though, one of the things we know about him is that he vanishes into roles, and it sounds like he's going to be doing something very different again this time.
But they're not hiding Cumberbatch from you, folks. While they haven't told us much about the characters, Disney and Lucasfilm were pretty up front about the cast before they started production.
For me, the day wasn't complete until I was able to share the trailer with my kids. I played it for them four or five times in a row on my big-screen, using the HD version from our own site, and watching their reactions made me excited in a whole different way. It just occurred to me… every other “Star Wars” film came out before my kids were born. When I showed them the films, they were films I already knew inside out. Now, for the very first time, we're seeing new “Star Wars” images together, and we're all enjoying the same anticipation.
What an awesome gift.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is in theaters December 18, 2015.