Chiwetel Ejiofor Comments On His Possible Role In Star Wars: Episode VII
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With the news that Star Wars: Episode VII is going in a new direction with screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and J.J. Abrams re-writing Michael Arndt’s original screenplay, new casting rumors have emerged because of the changes. Chiwetel Ejiofor, one of the actors who might be at the center of the new Star Wars universe has commented on his meetings with director J.J. Abrams at Bad Robot headquarters.
In an interview with Yahoo! Movies, Ejiofor talked briefly about the possibility of appearing in the new Star Wars movie. While it’s unclear exactly which character he could play in the film, his presence in Episode VII would raise the caliber of acting to a new level. Ejiofor stated:
Who knows? We’ll just have to see…I don’t know is really the only answer I can give you. I’m a huge fan of that world and JJ, but I don’t know. I can’t tell you. There are a lot of things that would be great to play and to investigate if I spent enough time thinking about it, but really it’s to try and see what actually does happen, what materialises… and figure out what the great stories are.
With the rumors that Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) and now Michael Fassbender might appear in Star Wars: Episode VII, the possible addition of Ejiofor would re-unite three of the main actors from Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, one of the front runners for the Best Picture Academy Award this year. Ejiofor also has a background in science fiction, appearing as the cunning Operative from the Firefly movie Serenity for Joss Whedon. There’s no doubt, if Ejiofor is cast in Episode VII, he would definitely bring a certain level of gravitas.
Recently, Breaking Bad and The Master star Jesse Plemons has been rumored to be up for a major role. If Plemons is cast in the film, the 25-year-old actor could possibly play the role of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker’s son. Along with Fassbender (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Prometheus), Hugo Weaving (The Matrix trilogy, Cloud Atlas) and Adam Driver (HBO’s Girls, Inside Llewyn Davis) are in heavy consideration for roles. Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, Riddick) has also an expressed interest in appearing in the new Star Wars movie.
At the moment, no actors have been officially cast in sEpisode VII, but we expect to hear something more concrete soon, considering that the film goes into principal photography at Pinewood Studios in London in just a few months. It’s also reported that the film’s budget is estimated to be as high as $200 million with Kasdan and Abrams still trying to finish the film’s script.
Star Wars: Episode VII hits theaters everywhere on December 18, 2015.
