Jupiter Ascending’s Gugu Mbatha-Raw might play female lead in Star Wars: Episode VIII

By Sam Barsanti | October 8, 2015 | 2:28am

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Even though we just referenced the fact that Tatiana Maslany is in talks to play the female lead in Star Wars: Episode VIII, Collider is now reporting that Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Jupiter Ascending, Beyond The Lights) has claimed that very role. Of course, this isn’t official yet, so there’s still a very good chance that Collider’s report could be wrong and/or plans could change between now and whenever they actually start filming Episode VIII. Also, Mbatha-Raw’s name wasn’t part of the rumored “shortlist” that came out early last month, which either makes this more credible (because it’s unexpected) or less credible (because it comes out of nowhere).

Assuming it’s true, though, Collider notes that it doesn’t “have any details on her role,” which makes a lot of sense since we barely know anything about Episode VII, let alone Episode VIII. If she really is getting this part, she’ll probably be appearing alongside Benicio Del Toro (who supposedly signed on to play “a villain” a few months ago). If she doesn’t get it, she probably won’t appear alongside Benicio Del Toro (unless they end up making a different movie together).