Forest Whitaker is reportedly in negotiations to join the cast of the upcoming stand-alone Star Wars movie called Rogue One.
The movie is being directed by Gareth Edwards, and among the already confirmed cast members are Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed, Ben Medelsohn and Diego Luna.
Rogue One revolves around the theft of the Death Star plans by a group of rebel fighters, which of course leads to the Rebel Alliance being able to destroy it in A New Hope. It will take place between the Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope and it is being described as a darker take on Star Wars. Felicity Jones will star as one of the rebel fighters, and speculation suggests that Ahmed and Luna will be playing Alliance Fighters. It is currently unknown exactly what role Whitaker will play.
Rogue One will be the first in a series of "Star Wars Anthology" spinoff films, all of which will be stand-alone. It is set for a release on Dec. 16, 2016.
Whitaker is, of course, extremely busy with his acting. He is reportedly looking to find a role in the upcoming reboot of The Crow before he films the new Star Wars movie. Currently, he is filming The Story of Your Life with Amy Adams, which is being directed by Denis Villeneuve. He's also a producer in a movie called Dope, which will be released on June 19, and will be in a boxing drama film called Southpaw.
Rogue One director Edwards has had his fair share of experience, but is still relatively new as a director. He is perhaps best known as the director of the Godzilla reboot and is set to direct the sequel to the movie, due in 2018. He is also known for his role in the independent film Monsters, for which he served as writer, director, cinematographer and visual effects artist.
Another big name on the Star Wars: Rogue One film is John Knoll, who serves as one of the writers and is co-executive producer, along with Simon Emanuel, who is known for his work on The Dark Knight Rises and Fast & Furious 6. The third executive producer is Jason McGatlin, who has worked on Tintin and War of the Worlds.
Of course, the big hype surrounding Star Wars right now is related to the next film in the actual Star Wars series, set to be called Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and will take place after the events of Return of the Jedi. The Force Awakens is scheduled to be released this holiday season, on Dec. 18.
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