‘Star Wars’ casting rumors heat up with ‘Girls’ star Adam Driver

No actor is officially set for J.J. Abrams directorial feature “Star Wars: Episode VII” — well, except for R2-D2, but who wouldn’t confirm that adorable droid as quickly as possible? However, it looks like we’ll start to hear about the new cast of the much-hyped movie soon, as Variety reports that “Girls” star Adam Driver is almost officially locked in to play a Darth Vader-esque evil villain.

‘Star Wars’ casting rumors heat up with ‘Girls’ star Adam Driver

“Star Wars” fans are grasping for every bit of news about the film, which is already under much scrutiny, because not only is it “Star Wars” but it’s the first installment of the beloved franchise under the stewardship of Disney (which bought LucasFilm last year for a mere $4 billion). Plus, there’s wildcard director Abrams, who can make things brilliant and/or super-confusing.

Adam Driver

Otherwise, casting is all just rumors so far, though the Internet has decided that original stars Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) will probably, definitely join the film. Evidence includes original writer/director George Lucas telling BusinessWeek that they were negotiating with the actors: “We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison — or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation.” (Although he followed that up with: “Maybe I’m not supposed to say that.”)

Plus, Carrie Fisher said she would be reprising her role as an “elderly” Princess Leia — but her rep said she was just kidding. Still, that’s enough to stoke the fanbase for now, as filming is set to start in the spring with a Dec. 18, 2015 release date.

Source : http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/02/27/star-wars-casting-rumors-heat-up-with-girls-star-adam-driver/