Benedict Cumberbatch is rumored to have been cast in "Star Wars: Episode VII."
According to Film Chronicles, Lucasfilm is about to reveal Cumberbatch's casting in an upcoming announcement. "There's a lot of gossip swirling around that Lucasfilm are about to make a big casting announcement regarding Star Wars VII, and that casting announcement appears to be none-other than Benedict Cumberbatch, most recently seen in director JJ Abrams' previous movie, 'Star Trek Into Darkness,'" reported Film Chronicles.
However, Cumberbatch's publicists have yet to confirm the rumors. Recently, Cumberbatch left Guillermo del Toro's "Crimson Peak" due to scheduling with another undisclosed project. Pundits were left speculating what that mysterious project was, but never mentioned a possibility of Cumberbatch joining "Star Wars."
If the rumors are accurate, Cumberbatch seems like a fitting casting choice for "Episode VII." The Brit has been adamant about his love for the original trilogy, telling Total Film: "I've already asked him [Abrams] if I can be a lightsaber and we're in talks- about whirring sounds and the rates for the lights and everything [laughs]. I was much more connected to [Star Wars] as a kid, in the way that a lot of kids are because it's immediate storytelling, very simple - a beautifully, outrageously simple narrative in a way - and a wonderful three-act melodrama, opera. And I loved them. I really, really loved those films and I always wanted to be Han Solo. Everything Harrison Ford did I just thought was the coolest thing ever."
Cumberbatch has recently built an incredible resume with standout roles in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," "War Horse," "Atonement" and "Creation." He will next be seen in "August: Osage County," "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," "The Fifth Estate" and "12 years of Slave."
"Star Wars Episode VII" is slated for release in December 2015.