Live-Action Attack on Titan Characters Unveiled

We all knew it was happening but now it’s real – pinch yourself this is real. The Japanese news websites Eiga.com and Sanspo revealed the first glimpse at the characters in costume for the long awaited and upcoming live-action Attack on Titan films (That’s right films! Plural!)
The cast are as follows:

As we can see there are seven original characters created for the film versions story. It is even reported that the character of Shikishima will be a crucial player holding the key to the films story. Interestingly enough there are some ever popular faces missing from this line up the most interesting being Annie, Levi and Reiner. Could it be the case they were left out to make room for the new characters? Casting was not based on resemblance to the characters (although they are pretty spot on) but more on if they were able to act the spirit of the character.
Film director Shinji Higuchi stated that the Attack on Titan project would span across two films – the story will be based on the original source material of the manga while bringing in some new characters and new daunting enemies.
BOTH films are slated for release next summer – is it next summer yet?