Late in the day comes this casting rumour from Twitch Film that two new names have jumped aboard the good ship Lucasfilm and will appear in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Familiar to many as stars of Gareth Evans’ The Raid series the names of Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian along with Cecep Arif Rahman have been linked to JJ Abrams’ much anticipated film.

This news follows the announcement that Uwais and Ruhian would team up in another sci-fi franchise, though Beyond Skyline is hardly in the same ballpark of fandom than Lucas’s monster.

Twitch rightly point out the heavy publicity focused on the practical nature of the new Star Wars films, and having these three actors on board point to something more brutal and hard-hitting than the staged (though no less explemary) choreographed so maligned in the Prequel trilogy.

These are very talented performers, Star Wars is fertile ground for their brand of martial artistry. Let’s hope this rumour pans out…

Here’s a neat behind the scenes look at one of the most incredible fights in The Raid series, showing not only the artistry but also the lengths they all go to to get it right.

The Raid 2: Rama vs Assassin (Video Storyboard) from Merantau Films on Vimeo.

Here’s some of the behind the scenes features from The Raid 2 which give a great indication of the performers and their Evans’ style.

The Raid 2: Berandal (Behind The Scenes – Part 2) from Merantau Films on Vimeo.