'Star Wars: Episode VII' Set 30 Years After 'Return of the Jedi'; Stars Trio of Young Leads

With filming expected to begin soon on Star Wars: Episode VII, it was only a matter of time before we started hearing some official announcements from Disney and Lucasfilm. Today we finally got a couple of them from Disney's Bob Iger, revealing the story's timeline, a little information about the lead characters, as well as J.J. Abram's shooting schedule.

In a conversation with reporters, Iger confirmed the story will take place 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, and will follow "a trio of new young leads along with some very familiar faces". Those familiar faces are expected to be Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher, back as older versions of their iconic characters. Adam Driver looks to be a lock as the villain, and recently Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o has been rumored for a part.

Iger also reiterated what was suspected, that filming would begin in May at London's Pinewood Studios. We can probably expect firm casting announcements to be made shortly. Star Wars: Episode VII opens December 18th 2015.