Director Gareth Edwards has found his leading lady for the forthcoming Star Wars stand-alone film. Variety reports that Felicity Jones, who received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role as Jane Hawking in The Theory of Everything, has entered final negotiations to star in the as-yet-untitled film.
Disney has been predictably tight-lipped about Edwards’ film, the first-ever Star Wars film to not be part of a trilogy. Rumors have persisted that the movie may focus on Boba Fett and/or Han Solo, with a plot based on stealing the plans to the first Death Star (i.e., the very event that led to the famous, “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi” line, and essentially the entire path of the original films). Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul has been mentioned as a possibility for the leading male role.
One thing we do know for sure: Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli) wrote an initial draft of the script, which was then handed off to Chris Weitz (About a Boy, The Golden Compass) for rewrites. A separate stand-alone movie from director Josh Trank (Chronicle, The Fantastic Four) is also in the works.
Source: COS
