Star Wars: 13 Biggest Rumours You Need To Know (Jan 21st)

6. New Female Cast Members For Episode VIII

A little while ago, it was announced that British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw was going to be part of the cast for Episode VIII, with two new significant female roles being created, including a Sith. While it was never revealed what Mbatha-Raw's role in the movie would be, it's now being reported that she's had to leave the project. Needless to say, the rumour mill has stepped up, and there's a new name in the running to take her part: Bel Powley, who starred in Diary of a Teenage Girl. According to The Wrap reporter Jeff Sneider, this is the case, while Gina Rodrigues (who was first linked around the same time as Mbatha-Raw) didn't get the part:

"Last week we mentioned Bel Powely and Gina Rodrigues. Now I heard Gina didn€™t get it. Now I am told Episode VIII has been pushed about a month. Rian Johnson is going to do another rewrite, and I heard an Asian actress got the role Bel and Gina were up for. But I don€™t know if the Bel Powely thing will work out."

Rating: 7/10 There seems to be quite a bit of uncertainty and confusion surrounding the new female characters of Episode VIII, which immediately casts some doubt on any casting talk. There's no mention here, for example, of Tatiana Maslany or Olivia Cooke, both of whom were mentioned alongside Rodrigues on the initial (rumoured) shortlist, while Powley's name is pretty new to the equation, and just seems to be the latest name thrown into the mix. A bit like with the Han Solo shortlist, there's probably a fair bit of truth here, but whether any of them end up in the movie remains to be seen, while it'll be interesting to know just who the "Asian actress" is.