There have been some huge developments in the world of ‘Star Wars’ lately. Shortly after the announcement that the franchise’s comic books would be moving from Dark Horse to Marvel, Lucasfilm announced that they would be streamlining the various video games, novels, comic books, cartoons, and movies into one consolidated canon. But the main focus of all things ‘Star Wars’ these days is the new trilogy that starts with the upcoming film from J.J. Abrams.
About two months ago, the first official photo from ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ was released and it revealed R2-D2 as the first character announced to appear in the movie. Since then (and even before then), rumors circulated about who else would be venturing to a galaxy far, far away. So far, names that have been connected to roles include Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael B. Jordan, Jack O’Connell, Alex Pettyfer, Saoirse Ronan, and Sullivan Stapleton. Now, The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Michael Fassbender, Hugo Weaving, and ‘Girls’ star Adam Driver are also among those who are on Abrams’ radar. The report indicates that Fassbender has already met with the team in December, but there is no speculation about who he or Driver would be playing. As for Weaving, he apparently went in to read for the role of an Imperial commander. But while many more actors are added to the list, one has been taken away.
Since Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan took over the script from Michael Arndt, the pair has made some major overhauls to the story. For instance, ‘Mud’ star Tye Sheridan met with the director prior to the screenwriter change and was being considered for a role. But now, “at this stage, there is no need for such young actors and thus Sheridan will not be involved”. Sheridan’s young character isn’t the only casualty of the script changes because word is that another character that was meant to be a 20-year-old male has been rewritten as a 40-year-old.
While the refocusing of the script may mean bad news for some young actors and actresses, it’s good news for the older ones, specifically Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher. When Arndt was at the helm of the script, the story focused more on the offspring of Han, Luke, and Leia, but now it appears that Episode VII will instead focus on the trio from the original trilogy. Their kids will appear in supporting roles first, but then will move into the spotlight in Episode VIII and IX.
Finally, the latest thing that Abrams and company are on the lookout for is a “twenty-something female actress who is either of mixed race or black” to play the daughter or granddaughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Who knows how many of these rumors will actually become fact, but some of them are quite fun, like the heroes from the original trilogy taking a bigger part in Episode VII. What do you think about the latest rumors surrounding the film? Do the three newest names of rumored actors to appear in ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’? Are you in favor of the script’s supposed direction? Do you have any ideas as to who could play Obi-Wan’s daughter/granddaughter? Sound off in the comments.
