14 DAY TRIAL // The casting rumors regarding the next “Star Wars” installment, “Episode VII,” have already reached soap opera status. There are so many confirmations, both official and unofficial, so many denials and so many rumors, that it's hard to keep track of every name involved and the parts they're supposed to play.
MarketSaw has just added a few more names to the mix, adding to the confusion, but this rumor also has the benefit of a little juicy scandal attached to it. As it turns out, two British thespians, both loved by the media and the internet, are said to be fighting over the same role in “Star Wars: Episode VII.”
One is the hugely popular Gary Oldman, who has been featured in many Hollywood block busters as of late, despite his classical training, and the other is the even more popular Benedict Cumberbatch, known to most for his role in the modern version of “Sherlock Holmes.”
It's not mentioned for which exact part the two actors are competing, but it's been said that director J.J. Abrams wants to keep both of them on board.
So far, the insider reveals the following names as related to the movie project, “Ian McDiarmid, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Warwick Davies, Benedict Cumberbatch and Gary Oldman. I believe Cumberbatch and Oldman were pursued for the same role, but I don't know how that will work out with the script changes, but I'm told they are both involved.”
Whereas Gary Oldman's name to that list is no surprise, since he casually mentioned in an interview that he was contacted by the good people from “Star Wars,” Benedict Cumberbatch surely comes as the biggest surprise of them all.
Oldman said in an interview that he wasn't sure he would get the part and he kept a cynical view on his starring in the film “They’ve called. I’m more cynical about it now. I’ll believe it when I’m on the plane home. The deal isn’t done, but yeah, they’ve inquired.”
Meanwhile Cumberbatch, a Star Wars fan, has joked that he would like to star in the sci-fi saga as a light saber. The “Desolation of Smaug” actor told Conan O'Brien on his talk show that he had been leaving director J.J. Abrams messages on his phone asking if he can star in the film.
The continuation to one of the most beloved science fiction franchises out there today is set to be released in theaters on December 18, 2015, with Abrams already declaring that the writing for the script was completed and that filming would begin in May in England.