Lucas Meets Anakin Hopefuls

In complete contrast to the secrecy that surrounded the casting of Episode I, Lucasfilm have embraced a policy of greater openness for Episode II - an example of which can be seen on the official site Starwars.com. In a post up this morning, the site informs fans that the casting of Anakin Skywalker is coming to an end with George Lucas meeting the actors who made it to the final auditions this weekend. An official press releases states that, 'this weekend, Skywalker Ranch played host to a handful of candidates for the coveted role of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II. George Lucas, Producer Rick McCallum and Casting Director Robin Gurland were on hand on Saturday and Sunday to see the hopeful actors in action opposite actress Natalie Portman.' 'George and Robin and I need to put our heads together,' commented producer McCallum. 'It could be several weeks before we know anything...The casting of Anakin is always a very emotional thing... it was for Episode I.' With only a few short months to go before filming begins in Sydney, Lucas needs to get his skates on to get his lead actor in place. For a more in-depth look at some of the people linked with the role of Anakin, click here. Thanks to rebelscum.