Brooke Bunny
Sounds like there’s a fairly good chance – despite denials from official channels (hardly surprising though) – Benedict Cumberbatch will reunite with his “Star Trek Into Darkness” director JJ Abrams on the upcoming “Star Wars Episode VII”.
BadAssDigest and ScreenCrush are suggesting Cumberbatch is a favourite to join the sequel trilogy, with the Brit expected to play a villain.
“I’ve heard the role he’s up for is that of a bad guy, almost certainly a Sith”, says Bad Ass Digest’s Devin Feraci. “And it’s a major role, one that will continue throughout the whole new trilogy. This part is why he dropped out of Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak.
“But it’s not a done deal, and it may not yet come together. There are some other commitments Cumberbatch will have to break to secure the part. In the meantime, I know that there have been official denials coming down from multiple channels – these denials are why the story didn’t break in a trade – but with a JJ Abrams production I never believe the denials. That’s not to say I think Cumberbatch is guaranteed the part, I just ignore the denials and wait for the official announcement. I mean, remember when Abrams said Khan wasn’t the bad guy in Star Trek Into Darkness?”
We sure do.
Cumberbatch spoke with Total Film recently about whether he’d be interested in joining the new “Star Wars” film if it were offered to him. He doesn’t come straight out and say ‘definitely! yes’ but he does confirm he’s a big fan of the franchise.
“I thought, ‘Yeah, I grew up with them,’ and I just looked recently at when they were released and now I’m like, ‘No, I didn’t grow up with them, I was born with them.’ They were a huge part of my background, and my upbringing. I was much more connected to [Star Wars] as a kid, in the way that a lot of kids are because it’s immediate storytelling, very simple – a beautifully, outrageously simple narrative in a way – and a wonderful three-act melodrama, opera. And I loved them. I really, really loved those films and I always wanted to be Han Solo.”
Filming on “Star Wars Episode VII” begins January 2014, so we’ll likely hear something official before Christmas.
