'Star Wars 7' Casting News, Rumors: J.J. Abrams shares 'Episode VII' set video from Abu Dhabi, reveals new character while talking to fans!

In a new video filmed on the set of Star Wars: Episode VII, director J.J. Abrams showed some exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of his current filming location in Abu Dhabi. As the filmmaker talks to his fans about some of the progress of the filming, an interesting looking character makes its way into frame! We should expect to see this creature in the upcoming 2015 film.

Watch Abrams' video here:

As you can see, Abrams also announced a great new charity program that Disney and Lucasfilm have set up around the sci-fi franchise. Star Wars: Force for Change is a new charity that you can get involved in, with the possibility of even landing a role in the upcoming movie!

Set up through Omaze's great donation website, fans of the series can offer money for a chance to win trip out to London to be a character in the movie. All proceeds will go to UNICEF.

Here is a bit more information on this charitable opportunity:

Everyone who pledges $10 becomes a "founder member" of the Force for Change campaign. All of these members are to be entered into a pool, from which the grand prize winner will be selected, but fans with deeper pockets can earn a higher chance of selection by buying more entries. As with platforms such as Kickstarter, the campaign's structure means higher-spending contributors will receive more valuable rewards for their generosity - give up $50,000, and not only will you vastly increase your chances of selection from the digital hat, but you'll get to see the movie before anyone else as Lucasfilm organizes a private screening for you the day before its release in December 2015. More reasonably priced rewards include T-shirts, Millennium Falcon posters, and lightsaber hilts.

To find out more about Force for Change and how to donate CLICK HERE!