The latest report concerning the first Star Wars standalone movie reveals that actress Felicity Jones is in talks to take the lead role.
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Update (February 3): The Hollywood Reporter says that Jones has been selected by Disney to star in the first Star Wars standalone movie, and the actress is currently negotiating her contract. As we reported last week, Chris Weitz has been hired to write the screenplay.
Interestingly, THR also notes that actors Aaron Paul and Edgar Ramirez are on the short list to take the lead male role.
Jones is best known for her roles in Like Crazy, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and this year’s Oscar-nominated film The Theory of Everything.
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Update (January 21): A reporter for Variety says that Kate Mara (House of Cards, American Horror Story, 24), Rooney’s sister, is in the running as well.
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Original story (January 20): According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gareth Edwards’ Star Wars spinoff film that is set to hit theaters in 2016 has begun screen testing actresses for the female lead role. There’s currently no indication of what role the actresses are going for.
One of the actresses that Edwards is allegedly testing is Tatiana Maslany, star of the massively popular show Orphan Black. Maslany’s incredible work on the show where she plays numerous different characters is proof that she can handle different roles and would be a great asset to the Star Wars spinoff, no matter what the role may be.
Rooney Mara is another actress who will be testing for the role. Like Maslany’s work on Orphan Black, Mara’s film work has been incredibly varied. She’d surely also slide into a role easily. Mara is best known for her Oscar nominated lead performance in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
She’s currently not set to screen test, but it is also believed that Felicity Jones is high on Edwards’ wantlist. However, she might not even get a chance to star due to her commitments with Inferno, the Da Vinci Code sequel that Ron Howard is set to direct this spring and summer. Jones just picked up an Oscar nomination for her great performance in The Theory of Everything.
These are not the only three actresses that Edwards, Lucasfilm, and Disney will be looking at for this unspecified role; there are a handful of unknown others that will also be tested. It’s also believed that some screen testing has already happened in the U.K.
News about Edwards’ Star Wars spinoff should continue to ramp up in the coming months, though a priority right now would appear to be to nail down a new screenwriter. They’ll of course want to cast the lead roles as soon as possible too, so casting announcements shouldn’t too far off. The Star Wars: The Force Awakens cast was revealed last April, and we’d expect that an announcement for this cast should come by at least that time this year.
Edwards’ Star Wars spinoff will hit theaters on December 16, 2016.