Lucasfilm and Disney shocked the world on Tuesday by announcing the official cast for the hotly anticipated "Star Wars: Episode VII." There were several rumors heating up in the days preceding the announcement, but many speculated the revelation would be made on "May the Fourth," a special day for Star Wars fans around the world.

While the choice of revealing the cast on a Tuesday was surprising, the information itself was a mixed bag of surprises and foregone conclusions. The idea of re-casting of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher in their famous roles was nothing new, though there must have been relief for numerous fans over the confirmation that the original stars of the franchise were in fact back for another go with Han, Leia and Luke. The inclusion of Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Anthony Daniels as C3PO and Kenny Baker as R2D2 was also confirmed previously. Adam Driver was rumored for a while, as was Oscar Isaac. But what of the unexpected casting choices? Here is a look at the most surprising revelations.

Andy Serkis

The actor is well known for being the best motion capture artist in the world. He created Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" as well as "King Kong" in Peter Jackson's remake; he is also Cesar in the new "Planet of the Apes" series. There can be no doubt that his inclusion means that another motion capture CGI character is slated to play a huge role in the franchise. Jar Jar Binks was a motion-capture creation in the prequel's first episode, but that trilogy of films relied on CGI characters to carry the films. The inclusion of Serkis points to a decidedly different approach by director J.J. Abrams. What will be interesting to see is whether he plays numerous characters or a central role. 

Domhnall Gleeson & Daisy Ridley

While the casting of Oscar Isaac and John Boyega was rumored for weeks, these two actors were barely mentioned in casting rumors. Ridley is obviously going to be a major focal point of the story as she is the only female added to the cast. In all likelihood she will be involved in some sort of love story as the two main females in both the original and prequel trilogy faced some sort of romantic conflict. There is some speculation that she might be Han and Leia's daughter, which would make her story arc all the more intriguing.

Gleeson is the wild card here. The Irish actor is on the rise with such turns in "About Time" and "Anna Karenina," but he might wind up with a minor role in the trilogy. It is hard to imagine that with such a massive cast every single character will get major screen time; the return of the original trio means that they will get substantial time in the new film. Oscar Isaac is not in this film to play a 20-minute role and Driver is the rumored villain of the piece. Ridley is the lone female addition, which means that she is not going to be ignored. Gleeson may be the one that gets stuck with little more than a cameo that could grow into a more substantial role down the line; just ask Samuel L. Jackson.

Max von Sydow

The legendary actor is following in the footsteps of Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Ian McDiarmid and Sir Alec Guinness as the veterans of the film. Notice a pattern here? Three of those actors played villains and it is hard to imagine von Sydow playing anything but a darker character in this film. This is probably the most interesting of the casting revelations as it could provide hints about the story itself. Is the Sith setup of master and apprentice going to be reinstituted in this new trilogy? If this is the case, then is von Sydow a Sith lord trying to resurrect the dark Jedis as Palpatine did in the prequels?

Glaring Omissions

Billy Dee Williams played a major part in Episodes V and VI and many expected him to come back in the new films. The fact that he was not mentioned is rather shocking. Of course, he could return in the other upcoming films or may simply be a surprise that will be revealed at a later date.

Frank Oz's omission was also surprising because it essentially confirms that Yoda will not make a return to the franchise. It was easy to believe the iconic Jedi would appear as a force ghost of some sort in the new film, but for the moment his inclusion seems unlikely.