There's a major female role at the center of Star Wars: Episode VIII, and so far we've heard a number of actresses rumored for it. Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black, Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez, and Olivia Cooke of Bates Motel are the prominent names being bandied about, but now a new name has emerged. According to Latino Review, Belle and Beyond the Lights breakout Gugu Mbatha-Raw is also contention, but wait there's more.
According to the site, it won't be one major female role but two, and everyone on the shortlist is up for them. Mbatha-Raw, who will be seen next in Concussion opposite Will Smith, has apparently auditioned for whatever her role in Star Wars will be, and frankly we don't know much about what the film will entail for obvious reasons. Rian Johnson is writing and directing it, and Benicio Del Toro has some kind of role that may or may not be villainous.
In related but fairly obvious news, Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy chatted with Costco (eh, they care about movies too I guess, or maybe they plan to sell some Star Wars shit) and revealed that the new trilogy is all about the Skywalker clan.
"The Saga films focus on the Skywalker family saga. The stories follow a linear narrative that connects to the previous six films. The ‘Force Awakens’ follows ‘Return of the Jedi’ and continues that generational story. ‘The Anthology’ films offer opportunities to explore fresh characters, new storylines and a variety of genres inside the Star Wars universe.”
Pretty obvious, right? There have been six movies that basically centered on the Skywalkers so why would these be any different? What this tells you is to expect one of the new characters to be revealed as part of the family. Maybe Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens December 18th. Star Wars: Episode VIII opens on May 26th, 2017
