Disney and Lucas Film seem to have found their leading lady for what will hopefully be the first of many stand alone Star Wars movies. Felicity Jones, who recently received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Jane Hawking in The Theory of Everything, is their current front-runner.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, it’s rumored that Jones is now in talks for an undisclosed role after “a series of hush hush readings”. Other actresses were also in Los Angeles last week for meetings and to do readings and tests. The most notable among them, aside from Jones, were Rooney Mara (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black).
Reports also indicate that the producers are showing interest in Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Edgar Ramirez (Deliver Us From Evil) for the lead male role in the movie. Paul has already made a foray into the Star Wars universe, as Luke Skywalker, during a live reading of The Empire Strikes Back. Jason Reitman staged the live reading of Star Wars: Episode V on December 18th 2014 at Los Angeles’ Ace Hotel.
The only details revealed so far about the Star Wars stand alone movie, are that Gareth Edwards is directing with Chris Wreitz penning the screenplay. Wreitz was brought on board last week to take over the writing duties from Gary Whitta, who authored the fist draft.
The untitled stand alone is scheduled to be released one year after The Force Awakens, on Dec. 16th of 2016. This will give plenty of time for fan speculation, and hopefully more than a few occasional tidbits from the studio to said fans.