Star Wars fans worldwide should be thankful J.J. Abrams isn't in charge of every future Star Wars sequel and spin-off. The Force Awakens director is known for his extreme, almost insane levels of secrecy regarding whatever film he's shooting- as is the case with The Force Awakens.
But Gareth Edwards' first Star Wars spinoff, titled Rogue One, doesn't bear the mark of J.J. Abrams' terrifying secret keepers. Instead, the news about Rogue One has trickled out at a steady pace- the latest being the casting of Ben Mendelsohn in a lead role. Mendelsohn's already had very small roles in a couple of major films, like The Dark Knight Rises and Kiling Them Softy. As well, he received considerable acclaim for his role in the dramatic film Starred Up, in a much larger capacity than in other films.
Of course, the one caveat to Mendelsohn's casting is that we have absolutely no idea who the Australian actor will be playing. He could be one of the film's heroes; perhaps a mentor to the only other actor cast in the film, Felicity Jones. He could be a villain, although it's possible that the reports of his casting might have mentioned that. After all, when Adam Driver was first cast in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he was rumored to be up for a villain role.
And could this mystery character affect more than just Rogue One? It's always possible that he could show up in another Star Wars spin-off film, or even one of the films in the new trilogy. The more we know about his character, the better chances of predicting something like that. Unfortunately, since we know just slightly more than nothing about the role, those aspects become harder to predict. And hey, if Mendelsohn ends up playing Boba Fett, he'll probably be in every Star Wars movie until the end of time.
Rogue One releases on December 16, 2016.
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