We've waited months for some trustworthy Star Wars Episode VII news, and just 24 hours after it was revealed that Breaking Bad's Jesse Plemons is meeting with J.J. Abrams about a role in the new trilogy, The Hollywood Reporter has broken some huge news about the movie. Firstly, Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class), Adam Driver (Girls) and Hugo Weaving (Captain America: The First Avenger) are all being considered for roles, with two sources claiming that the latter is apparently being lined up to play an Imperial commander.

According to the site, the movie has changed considerably since Michael Arndt was taken off scriptwriting duties. Why? Well, "Arndt is said to have focused on the offspring of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), with the original trilogy heroes taking on supporting roles. Abrams, however, wanted Episode VII to focus on the classic trio of characters, so audiences could have one more chance to enjoy them before a fitting send-off. The new characters, the offspring, will now be in supporting roles, according to these sources, and take center stage in Episode VIII and IX. Some characters have disappeared from the Arndt script and new ones are being drafted."

As a result, the type of actors being sought after for the movie has drastically changed, with even those who auditioned now no longer needed. One of those is Mud's Tye Sheridan, but sources tell the site that such young actors are no longer needed. One role which was initially conceived as a 20-year old male is now being rewritten to be a 40-year old. In a final interesting twist, the site adds: "The latest bit to surface this week is that Abrams and Lucasfilm are now searching for a 20-something female actress who is either of mixed race or black. The rumor is that Obi-Wan Kenobi had a daughter or granddaughter."

...to give the three old farts a larger role.

2 of those three "old farts" are only 10 years older than me.

But anyway, if the story works and the new younger characters evolve over the course of the new trilogy, then that's cool with me.

Hey, I'm no spring chicken myself, but Ford is going to be 7 years older than he was on Indy IV! I'm fine with them being there in the background to pass the torch, but to have them carry the bulk of the action...I dunno.

All I need is Ford actually caring for a role and not doing the "dying old man" act.

J.J. Abrams says the script for “Star Wars Episode VII” is complete, and confirms that he’s talked with “Breaking Bad” actor Jesse Plemons about a role.

“We’re working really hard and we’ve got our script and we’re in deep prep,” Abrams told TheWrap. “Full steam ahead, y’know.”

Abrams spoke Sunday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, where he’s promoting his new NBC series, “Believe.” He confirmed that Plemons is among the actors he’s speaking with, and expressed surprise about the reports of his talks with the actor.

“He is one of the actors that we’ve talked to, yeah,” Abrams said. “But, you know. It’s not often that I read about actors that I’m going to be meeting… that I get to read articles about actors who are going to come in. And so I get to see someone and say, ‘Oh, I read that I’m going to see you.’ … It’s usually agents talking to people about what’s happening. It’s a lot of noise.”

In other rumor news, Big Shiny Robot is reporting that they're hearing Judi Dench as Mon Mothma.

Multiple sources now have confirmed for us that "Star Wars Episode VII" is set to start shooting mid-May and will run through September of this year, and most principal casting on the film is complete, with many announcements still to come.

What do we really know about the new film at this point? In terms of concrete verified fact? Very little. I hear pretty much everyone who could make a return will make a return. While I haven't had it confirmed conclusively, I think that even includes Lando.

With Star Wars: Episode VII casting underway and production expected to begin in the spring in the U.K., Industrial Light & Magic -- the VFX division of Lucasfilm, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company -- is getting ready to launch a new feature visual effects facility in central London.

She also revealed that since production of J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars is planned at London’s Pinewood Studios, “we’ll certainly have some art department and previs there, but we’re not currently planning on having a large ILM presence at Pinewood. We did consider splitting the facility in two, but we are now focusing on our London facility and having an as-needed facility at Pinewood to be near the production.”

ILM’s Roger Guyett (who earned his third Oscar nomination this year for Star Trek Into Darkness) will be the VFX supervisor on Star Wars Episode VII. The plan is for the ILM facilities to handle all of the work for the film, not just in the U.K., but also in ILM’s San Francisco headquarters, and Singapore and Vancouver locations, as well as at its strategic partner, Base FX in Beijing. The London facility will have a pipeline allowing it to share work with the other ILM offices.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/66222

New casting rumour (though it comes from Harry): Jack Reynor is in Episode VII

Did they find the same model dish? Did they paint it white again?

Will we discover the bathroom on the Falcon?

You may want to sell them now. Once these characters get retconed into oblivion, their sentimental value (and market value) will slowly diminish.

You can stop right there...I don't trust that fat slop any further than I can throw him by hitting him with a bus.

"There is no truth in that -- Jack is not taking on a role in the latest Star Wars film," a spokesperson for the actor told the Herald.

"He has not been approached about a role and there has been no discussion.

"The rumours started online, but there is no foundation to them."

After meeting with several young actors this past year, sources tell Variety that “Downton Abbey” thesp Ed Speleers, “Attack the Block” star John Boyega, Jesse Plemons and theater actors Matthew James Thomas, and Ray Fisher are among the men J.J. Abrams is eyeing for the lead role. Though some insiders warn the search is still ongoing, multiple sources confirm to Variety these actors have moved to the top of the list in recent weeks.

Exact details of the character are vague but the part is believed to be a Jedi apprentice. The original draft by Michael Arndt was said to focus on Han Solo and Princess Leia’s kids, however, Abrams and Kasdan’s recent rewrite reportedly puts their offspring in a supporting role.

Boyega is awesome, I hope he gets the role.

He could play Luke's son.

It's funny you bring that up. Boyega hasn't been the only black actor rumored for a lead role Episode VII (Michael B. Jordan being the other). If Abrams really is casting his net this wide, might the new films not focus on Luke's or Han and Leia's offspring after all?

Add Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o to those meeting for the part of the female lead in Star Wars: Episode VII.

Sources say that Nyong-o met with J.J. Abrams only a few weeks ago, just before the Academy Awards where she took home the statuette for best supporting actress for her work in 12 Years a Slave.

Now Nyong'o’s name has surfaced in connection to Star Wars. Because of the secrecy, it is unclear which role it could be. One possibility is that of a descendent of Obi-Wan Kenobi, which has been described as a non-Caucasian role. That is separate from the search for two roles, female and male, for characters in their twenties.

That logo is fake, the source is the same guy that did the fake D23 posters last year.

With all due respect to Mr. Iger - R2D2 is a character, not an actor.