With Benicio Del Toro recently confirmed as the film’s big bad, it seems as though the casting process on Star Wars: Episode 8 is beginning to kick up a gear, with The Wrap reporting that director Rian Johnson has already put together a shortlist of actresses he would like to see take the female lead.
According to the outlet, the current frontrunners are Tatiana Maslany, Olivia Cooke and Gina Rodriguez. The report suggests that the trio will be booked in for chemistry readings with John Boyega by the end of the month, although it does also note that there may be some additional candidates who have yet to read for Johnson.
If I was to put money on it, I’d suggest that Maslany might be the likeliest to bag the role, if only because she was a finalist to star in the Rogue One spin-off, eventually losing out to Felicity Jones at the last. We shall see… Directed by Johnson, Star Wars: Episode 8 will open in the UK and US on May 26, 2017.
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