From THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN to an Oscar nomination for THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING and now to a galaxy far, far away. Felicity Jones has just been announced as the female lead in Gareth Edwards‘ STAR WARS SPIN-OFF slated for release next year.
With STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS just over 300 days away, that puts casting announcements at the forefront over the next couple of months. If the schedule follows J.J. Abrams on EPISODE VII, I would expect to know more as we get closer to the Summer. At this point, all we know is Chris Weitz has come on board to script the film which saw the departure of writer Gary Whitta just a few weeks ago. We still have no idea what the plot of the film will be despite rumors including everyone from Han Solo to Boba Fett.
Felicity Jones‘ stock is very high right now so I would anticipate her role will be major and not just a secondary character in a male dominated movie. Could she be portraying an existing character we have seen from the Extended Universe? Could she be teased in THE FORCE AWAKENS? All these questions and more will be answered in the coming year.
The first STAR WARS SPIN-OFF hits theaters on Dec. 16, 2016.
