Forest Whitaker In Negotiations to Join Star Wars: Rogue One Cast
By Elaine Tveit
The cast of Star Wars: Rogue One keeps getting bigger and more diverse. Variety is reporting that Forest Whitaker is in negotiations to join the impressive ensemble, alongside Felicity Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Diego Luna, and Riz Ahmed.
According to Variety, Disney and Lucasfilm had no comment on the Whitaker’s casting.
The 53-year-old actor has appeared in many films, including Lee Daniels’s The Butler (in which he played the titular character). He is set to appear in Story of Your Life opposite Amy Adams, as well as in the remake of The Crow, Variety reports.
We can only guess at what kind of character he’ll be playing. Due to his age, he could be representing the experienced Rebel fighter or Imperial officer. Recent rumors reported by JoBlo hinted that there will be a lot of aliens in Rogue One, so he could be donning makeup or a mocap suit for his role. He could even be playing a droid, as the rumors also indicated that a new droid character would be featured in Rogue One. It’s all up in the air at this point; not just for Whitaker, but for all of the actors listed as being cast in the film. Though we have it confirmed that Felicity Jones is going to play a Rebel soldier, and have heard rumors that Ben Mendelsohn is going to play the main villain, the other characters are unknown.
Regardless of who (or what) Whitaker is playing, it’s great to see an experienced actor add yet another layer to this diverse cast.