You don’t need us to tell you that this most recent batch of Star Wars films have been the most controversial of the series. Fans and critics are at odds with each other — even fans and fans are at odds with each other, to be honest. Still, there is no denying the fact that these new cast members, both from the Sequel Trilogy and the Star Wars Stories, are some of the most talented in the franchise’s history. For that reason, it’s not surprising that many of these impressive actors have worked together before — some multiple times, even. Not just from the Sequel Trilogy, either. Many actors from these recent films have worked with actors from the Prequel Trilogy, as well.
Inside Llewyn Davis (Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac)
The Coen Brothers’ folk music masterpiece from 2013 features all kinds of great performances—the film follows a drifting New York musician in the 1960s played by Oscar Isaac — but one of the most memorable is Adam Driver as a charmingly simple folk singer. Isaac’s Llewyn Davis ends up crashing at Driver’s character’s apartment at one point in the film, and seeing the two playing friendly acquaintances is never not funny when considering their tumultuous relationship in the Sequel Trilogy.
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Ex Machina (Oscar Isaac and Dom Gleeson)
Alex Garland’s unsettling science fiction debut follows a creepy inventor and an innocent techie as they test a cyborg prototype. Oscar Isaac plays the inventor, while Domnhall Gleeson plays the techie — Alicia Vikander plays the cyborg the two can’t help but fight over. Instead of Isaac’s character being at the mercy of Gleeson’s, the roles are reversed: Gleeson is the good guy, Isaac the bad.
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Nativity Story (Oscar Isaac and Keisha Castle-Hughes)
You could call The Nativity Story a prequel of sorts (it’s a stretch, but just go with it) — that’s why it makes sense for The Nativity Story to star someone from the Prequel Trilogy. Keisha Castle-Hughes from Episode III and Oscar Isaac from the Sequel Trilogy play Mary and Joseph in the 2006 film that tells the story of their journey to Bethlehem and the eventual birth of their son Jesus.
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Non-Stop (Liam Neeson and Lupita Nyong’o)
Released not too long before she’d make her first appearance as Maz, Lupita Nyong’o starred in the plane-based action film Non-Stop with Episode I’s Liam Neeson. The film is a big departure from their respective Star Wars roles — Liam Neeson is an air marshal and Lupita Nyong’o isn’t playing a motion capture character, for starters.
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Game of Thrones (Emilia Clarke, Gwendoline Christie)
Star Wars has always been British just as much as it has always been typically American — actors from both sides of the ocean have graced the screen equally and with inexplicable inconsistency. Three American leads and a plethora of Brits starred in the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy, while a few British actors and a group of Americans led the Sequel Trilogy. That’s why it makes sense to see two huge British actresses from the predominantly British television series Game of Thrones show up in the most recent batch of Star Wars movies.
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Wilson (Laura Dern, Woody Harrelson)
While the film came before Episode VIII and Solo: a Star Wars Story, Craig Johnson’s Wilson features two Star Wars actors in leading roles — Laura Dern and Woody Harrelson. The two wound up playing important parts in their respective Star Wars films, and they have a moderately enjoyable time in this dramatic comedy, as well.
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Che, Pt. I and II (Oscar Isaac, Benicio del Toro)
In Steven Soderbergh’s sprawling and thorough account of the life of Che Guerra, Oscar Isaac plays the role of the interpreter to Benicio del Toro’s Guerra. While Isaac doesn’t appear in Part II, Benicio Del Toro obviously does — the films cover most of the major events in his life.
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