Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed and Diego Luna confirmed as rebel alliance fighters vying to steal plans to the first Death Star in Gareth Edwards’ “Anthology” film

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Forest Whitaker is in talks to join the cast of Star Wars: Rogue One in an unspecified role, reports Variety.

The Oscar-winning American actor, 53, is in line to join an impressive team of players in Gareth Edwards’ film, which is expected to centre on a group of rebel fighters vying to steal the plans to the first Death Star. Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna and Ben Mendelsohn have already been cast.

Variety suggests Jones, Ahmed and Luna will all play rebels. The title of the spin-off – Disney-owned Lucasfilm is referring to the film as its first “Star Wars Anthology” movie – suggests they will be X-Wing pilots.

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Confirmation that the film will be set prior to the events in 1977’s Star Wars means Disney could, in theory, even cast a new actor as villain Darth Vader. Reports prior to the announcement of the new Star Wars film The Force Awakens suggested that a number of iconic characters from the original movies, such as Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett, might turn up in future spin-offs.

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Whitaker is best known for his Oscar-winning turn as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland. He has largely steered clear of science-fiction fare since 2000’s Scientology-stained stinker Battlefield Earth saw him nominated for a Razzie award for worst supporting actor.

Rogue One is due to hit cinemas on 16 December, 2016, approximately a year after JJ Abrams’ The Force Awakens kicks off a new trilogy of Star Wars films.

