Lupita Nyong'o & Gwendoline Christie cast in Star Wars: Episode VII

Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie have joined the cast of J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode VII , Lucasfilm has confirmed.

Nyong'o saw her profile rise stratospherically after her turn in 12 Years A Slave , for which she earned an Oscar. She has been rumour-linked to the mega-sequel for some time, with early reports suggesting she'd be playing a Sith.

Christie, meanwhile, is best known as the imposing Brienne of Tarth in TV phenomen Game Of Thrones . Star Wars won't be her first big blockbuster movie though, as she has already secured a key role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2 .

No word on who Christie will be playing, but given her GOT stature, expect it to be someone thoroughly badass.

The pair join the likes of Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson and John Boyega alongside franchise stalwarts Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.

Star Wars: Episode VII will open in the UK on 18 December 2015.

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.