Domhnall Gleeson for 7th episode of Star Wars franchise

Rising Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson is to appear in JJ Abrams's highly anticipated seventh episode of the Star Wars franchise.

Speculation as regards casting has been furious since Abrams was announced as director early last year, but Star War fanatics encountered some surprises when key cast members were revealed today.

Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow and Daisy Ridley will be joining Gleeson on the London shoot. It has also finally been confirmed that Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, stars of George Lucas's original 1977 space opera, are to reprise their iconic roles.

“We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII,” Abrams said. “It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

Few details of the plot are known, but the film will take place some 35 years after the events in Return of the Jedi, the last film in the opening trilogy, and will focus on a fresh trio of young leads.

The son of Brendan Gleeson, Domhnall, now 30, has already appeared in such films as Anna Karenina, True Grit, Calvary and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Next week, he can be seen opposite Michael Fassbender in Lenny Abrahamson's offbeat comedy, Frank.

There is now a very real possibility that, following the December 2015 release of Star Wars Episode VII, he will have a part in the most successful film of all time.