British Actor Jack O’Connell Up For Key Role In STAR WARS: EPISODE VII?

Lucasfilm and J.J. Abrams have been looking at a ton of actors for their next Star Wars installment, we basically hear new names connected to the casting process every week. Well it’s that time again and BleedingCool has word J.J. has met with British actor Jack O’Connell for a key role in Star Wars: Episode VII, this comes from a trusted reporter over at BC that first reported on Wonder Woman being in Batman Vs Superman, the part in the film isn’t named but it’s possible it could be one of the Skywalker kids. Jack’s acting credits include roles in Skins, Harry Brown, Tower Block, Liability and the upcoming 300: Rise of An Empire. J.J. Abrams and original trilogy writer Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of The Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back Return of The Jedi) are currently writing the script, after screenwriter Michael Arndt’s (Toy Story 3, Catching Fire, Little Miss Sunshine) exit from the project. Production on Episode VII is expected to begin early next year at Pinewood Studios UK with a release date of December 18th, 2015.

Let’s just hope that we don’t have to keep talking about these possible actors for another four months, because the amount of actors being linked is ridiculous. The group of actors previously linked or rumored for roles in the seventh installment include Jack’s Rise of An Empire co-star Sullivan Stapleton (Strike Back, Animal Kingdom) along with Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men, 12 Years A Slave), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, Sherlock, Hobbit Trilogy), Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station, Chronicle), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, Hanna), David O (Jack Reacher, Lincoln, Spooks), Rachel Hurd Wood (Perfume, Peter Pan), Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), Miles Teller (Divergent, Rabbit Hole, Spectacular Now), Ryan Gosling (Drive, Only God Forgives), Zac Efron (Neighbors), Dane DaHaan (Chronicle, Amazing Spider-Man 2, Lawless), John Noble (Fringe, Lord of The Rings), Leonardo DiCaprio (Wolf of Wall Street, The Departed, Inception), Ksenia Solo (Black Swan), and Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike, I Am Number Four).

As for the returning cast at this point it sounds like Harrison Ford might be the only one being asked to come back, but it’s still possible that Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill will be asked to reprise their iconic roles. This could anger fans, but J.J. should start fresh with this new trilogy by moving forward with an all new cast and unseen characters, making his own mark on the franchise. The problem with Bad Robot productions is that they keep everything top secret and it’s sort of burned them in the past, Abrams even regrets lying about Khan in Star Into Darkness. Lucasfilm has always had a strong connection with fans by sharing production tidbits, which might be another reason J.J. will have to kick that mystery box to the curb.

SOURCE: BLEEDINGCOOL