J.J. Abrams might have already started filming his Star Wars sequel, and we still barely know anything about it. We know Girls’ Adam Driver might be in it. We know Peter Mayhew might be returning as Chewbacca. We know the planet Tatooine will probably be involved (because of course it will). Now, finally, we definitely maybe sort of kind of possibly know something else.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “several sources” claim to know that an Oxford-educated actress named Maisie Richardson-Sellers is the front-runner for an unannounced-but-possibly-major role in Episode VII. Though she has no actual film credits, Richardson-Sellers has appeared in several British plays, so she’s not just some random person picked off the street and offered up to the life-ruining monster that is Star Wars.
If the rumors are true, she may be up for a role as “a young black or mixed-race woman who may be a descendent of Jedi Knight Ben Kenobi.” Now, big Star Wars nerds might have some issues with this, such as the fact that his real name is Obi-Wan, duh, and that the Jedi order traditionally forbids things like marriage and having kids, which would make it difficult to have descendants. Still, Obi-Wan was living alone on a shitty desert planet for about 20 years, so it’s hard to blame the guy for hooking up with some ladies, in between keeping an eye on Luke Skywalker and practicing his imitation of a Krayt dragon.
Anyway, the rumor that J.J. Abrams is looking at Maisie Richardson-Sellers suggests that we could just throw out all prior Star Wars casting rumors. If he’s looking at one unknown, maybe the whole cast will be people we’ve never heard of. Hell, maybe you’ll be in the next Star Wars.