‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ gets a new old cast member: Ewok actor Warwick Davis

Star Wars: Episode VII doesn’t have a subtitle yet, but maybe it should be called Return of the Ewok. Warwick Davis, the actor who played the charismatic Ewok warrior Wicket W. Warrick in Return of the Jedi, popped up in a new video today to gleefully announce he had received a call to return to a galaxy far, far, away. The 44-year-old Davis comically shows off his enthusiasm with a false beard, but doesn’t specify exactly what role he will be playing, or whether Ewoks will appear in Star Wars: Episode VII at all. In fact, Davis could easily be playing another character entirely, or even several new characters, as he did in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (he played young Anakin Skywalker’s Rodian friend Wald and two other aliens). Nonetheless, Davis’s casting shows that director J.J. Abrams is clearly set on bringing back even more iconic actors from the original trilogy, and it would make sense that some Ewoks would appear in a new film since it takes place after their heroic assistance to the Rebels in the Battle of Endor in ROTJ. We’ll find out soon enough: Star Wars: Episode VII is set to hit theaters on December 18th, 2015.