21 Jan – "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" may still be in slumber and will only be hitting the silver screen by the end of this year, but the search for a star for the first upcoming "Star Wars" standalone film is already underway. "The Theory of Everything" star Felicity Jones, upcoming "Pan" actress Rooney Mara and TV's "Orphan Black" lead Tatiana Maslany are reportedly being eyed for the main actress role in the upcoming spinoff, according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, it is speculated that Jones may not be available for the movie as the Oscar-nominated actress will be busy with the filming of "Inferno", the third instalment in the "The Da Vinci Code" series. There are no further details on the film's plot yet as well as what character the chosen actress will be playing.
To be directed by Gareth Edwards, who helmed last year's "Godzilla", this is one of the two "Star Wars" standalone films currently in development by Lucasfilm. The other film will be directed by Josh Trank, with no release date attached to it yet. Edwards' project, set for release in North American cinemas on 16 December 2016, is in the midst of looking for a writer after Garry Whitta left. The last "Star Wars" movie on the big screen was 2008's animated film "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", which collected USD155,761 in Malaysia and USD250,587 in Singapore; with a worldwide gross of USD68 million. The seventh instalment in the franchise, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is slated for release on 17 December 2015.