Benedict Cumberbatch Plays Coy About Star Wars Casting Rumors, Plus A Possible Episode VII Title Revealed
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According to rumors, Star Wars: Episode VII will go into production in January 2014 in London, England. There are only a few months until this alleged start date, and the big question is who will be the new faces of the Star Wars franchise?
One of the bigger Ep VII casting rumors so far is that Benedict Cumberbatch will play an unconfirmed role in the film, possibly as a Sith lord. Cumberbatch still refutes those claims, although they would certainly make sense after his teaming with J.J> Abrams on Star Trek Into Darkness. Cumberbatch told The Telegraph that there’s nothing to the rumors:
‘Of course I’d love to do Star Wars and work with JJ Abrams again because we had such a good time on Star Trek,’ he says. ‘But nobody has been cast and there are no offers out to anyone apart from the regulars who are returning. So that’s that rumour quashed.’ Then he adds with a grin: ‘We’ll have to wait and see.’
We will wait and see, indeed, Mr. Cumberbatch.
The 37-year-old British actor recently dropped out of Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak, which led people to think that he might join Abrams on Star Wars. While it’s hard to take Abrams and Cumberbatch at their word (after the whole “John Harrison” nonsense), it would be somewhat fitting for Cumberbatch to join the cast of Episode VII as the film’s villain. He did a fine job as the bad guy in Star Trek 2.
Actors Rachel Hurd-Wood and Alex Pettyfer are also rumored to be up for unspecified roles in the new movie. Lucasfilm employee Spencer Beidelman recently posted on the Star Wars fan site Obi Wants to Know Me, supposedly looking for fan reactions to the possibility of Hurd-Wood and Pettyfer being cast in the next Star Wars movie. The reason this particular post is newsworthy is that Obi Wants to Know Me isn’t just any Star Wars fan site. It’s actually a Lucasfilm property, built to gauge hardcore fans’ reactions to Star Wars news. According to our sister site Cinema Blend, Obi Wants to Know Me is a closed-off community and it requires users to sign a non-disclosure agreement to join. It’s pretty heavy duty.
This doesn’t mean that Rachel Hurd-Wood and Alex Pettyfer are confirmed for Star Wars: Episode VII, it’s just that Disney and Lucasfilm might be considering them as viable options.
Lastly, it seems like many Star Wars fans were bummed out when Lucasfilm didn’t have much of a presence at Disney’s D23 fan expo last month. Fans were anticipating that Kathleen Kennedy would at least announce the full title for Episode VII. Well, new rumors suggest the movie marquees will read “Star Wars: Episode VII – A New Dawn.”
This information came courtesy of TalkBacker.com’s inside sources at Disney and Lucasfilm, who also point to “A New Dawn” possibly being the sub-title of George Lucas’ original treatment for Episode VII. If this were true, A New Dawn would be a good enough title for Episode VII. It would definitely mirror what came before it with A New Hope, and we all know how much George Lucas likes to mirror things from the original trilogy, as with Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith.
Talk Backer also reveals a few details about the set being built in Pinewood Studios in London. Apparently, the Millennium Falcon will return for Episode VII. Does this mean Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian are expected to return too? Talk Backer writes, “…yes the falcon will make a big appearance, 1.1 scale size cross section is being constructed over at Pinewood, along with a power plant set and the famous cantina.
The “famous cantina,” of course, would most likely mean the iconic Mos Eisley setting seen in A New Hope. So it looks like we might go back to Tatooine. Of course, nothing is official yet, so take all of these rumors with a grain of salt.
Star Wars: Episode VII will hit theaters everywhere in 2015.
