It seems a few weeks cannot go by with out a new Star Wars related whisper spreading across the internet (like these ones here and here). It is hardly surprising when such a beloved series has a whole new creative team behind it and the possibility of countless new movies ahead of it. The Star Wars fans have a right to be excited. So when the website Film Chronicles puts up an article with the title “Benedict Cumberbatch is in Star Wars VII”, even the most hard core fanboy and fan girls heads are likely to explode.
But this does appear to be the case. Benedict was previously scheduled to be working with Guillermo Del Toro on his new film Crimson Peak but dropped out and strangely no answer was given. As the shooting schedules would have been roughly the same it is hard not to draw a comparison between the two events. Though no information on his role in the franchise is available, we do know he is a huge fan of Star Wars. Look at the extract below from Collider (via Total Film) to see him gush about the franchise.
“I’ve already asked him if I can be a lightsaber and we’re in talks – about whirring sounds and the rates for the lights and everything [laughs].
“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. Everything Harrison Ford did I just thought was the coolest thing ever.”
Is there any role this man cannot pull off? In his epic rise to stardom he has already played Frankenstein and his monster, an iconic Star Trek character, given vocal life to Smaug in the upcoming Hobbit movies and brought Sherlock Holmes to life again for a new generation. This guy is incredible so hearing he is in the new Star Wars movies is a definite thumbs up. Working with JJ Abrams again has got to be a dream combination after seeing their great work on Star Trek Into Darkness. Hopefully Disney will not keep us out the loop to long and we will get an insight into his character soon. If not, be safe in the knowledge that it looks like he could be set to wield a lightsaber very soon.
Grizzly Bomb 