Fringe’s John Noble May Play A Villain In Star Wars: Episode VII

By Brent McKnight | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Now that the dust has finally settled and we know that J.J. Abrams is going to direct Star Wars: Episode VII for Disney, we can move on to other things, like wild, unsubstantiated casting rumors. Here’s one for you: a report states that Fringe star John Noble is up for the part of a villain in the next chapter of franchise. Who knows if this is legit, or if it will turn out to be real, but you could do a hell of a lot worse.

John Noble may play a bad guy in Star Wars: Episode VII
John Noble may play a bad guy in Star Wars: Episode VII

An Australian radio host named Jo on Fox FM said that she “has it on very good authority that Aussie actor John Noble will be appearing as the villain.”

When her co-host pushed the matter, she stood by her statement, and made sure to point out that this was definitely for Episode VII, not one of the recently announced stand alone films.

Don’t take this as gospel truth, or even accept it as a possibility at all at this point—time will tell if this bears any weight—but wouldn’t that be kind of perfect? The franchise has a habit of casting distinguished, venerable older actors like Peter Cushing, Terrence Stamp, and Christopher Lee.

Noble would fit right into this tough old bastard niche. Not only is he a great actor, one we’re always happy to see more of, but he’s shown he can handle and excel in this type of role. While his portrayal of Denethor in Two Towers and Return of the King wasn’t a straight up villain, he does have a sinister streak—trying to burn his own son—and a strong presence in the story despite the relatively small scale of the part.

If this pans out—let’s be honest, not many of the rumors we hear at this stage of the game turn out to be true—it’s a fantastic choice. What do you think? Would you like to see John Noble in Sith robes, terrorizing the galaxy?