A radio DJ from Melbourne, Australia, says she "has it on very good authority," that the Aussie actor John Noble - of Lord of the Rings and Home & Away fame - has already been cast as the villain in J.J. Abrams forthcoming Star Wars movie. Jo at Fox FM was pressed by her co-host Matt, though she stuck to her guns saying the casting was for Episode VII and definitely NOT for one of the recently announced stand-alone movies. She then offered a friendly wager on the matter.

Though starting rumors and spreading speculation is commonplace in the radio stations the world over, Jo's comments have intrigued the Star Wars fan-base, mainly because it's such a left-field call. It's likely that media types down-under haver more of a sense of what Noble is going to be up to in the coming years, so maybe we should take notice? Comic Book Movies.com said, "it's the rare crazy rumor that doubles as a totally brilliant idea, so I'm all for hoping this is one bit of wild speculation that turns out to be true. Still, best to take this with a generous heaping of salt."

Noble - Walter Bishop himself - is currently doing some voice work on the forthcoming animated movie Superman: Unbound, and whaddaya know? He's playing the superhero's principal enemy Brainiac.

Watch John Noble On The Conan O'Brien Show, Can You See Him As A Star Wars Villain?