Original Star Wars cast to feature in new films? Well, they’ll certainly need the force with them

Long before the Twitter universe, George Lucas was serving up an imagined galaxy which would have long-lasting – and not entirely healthy – effects on generations to come.

With millions of the franchise’s devotees now occupying questionable amounts of time in the Twittersphere, Lucas’s indiscreet announcement that the original principal cast members have been in the “final stages of negotiation” about a comeback has been met with a mixture of euphoria and middle-aged caution.

Stated concerns include whether a now 70-year-old Harrison Ford, pictured, will have to return “digitally enhanced”, while Carrie Fisher’s revelation that fans will see Princess Leia residing in an “intergalactic old folks’ home” suggests she is not taking this as seriously as some would hope.