Star Wars standalone flick eyeing Felicity Jones as lead

We've known for a while that Disney is planning to introduce standalone Star Wars movies, and last summer word surfaced that one of those movies will be directed by Josh Trank. Also on board as director for a standalone Star Wars film is Gareth Edwards, and tipped to star as the female lead for his movie in particular is Felicity Jones, perhaps best known at the moment for her role in The Theory of Everything and the new movie True Story.

The information comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which is quiet about where it got the information. Reportedly Jones is in talks at the moment about taking the lead female role in the movie, which just recently brought in Chris Weitz as the writer (Gary Whitta, however, wrote the first draft).

Last week saw several actresses testing for the role in LA, and both Rooney Mara and Tatiana Maslany are said to have been among those contending. The movie, like the other standalone Star Wars movies, will zero in on a single character as the focus for the film.

Which Star Wars character Edwards' movie is revolving around isn't known, and might not be until nearer the film's release date (December 16, 2016) nears. Among other contenders for roles in the film is Edgar Ramirez and Aaron Paul, though that likewise comes from sources and is not official.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter