Tatiana Maslany, Gina Rodriguez, Olivia Cooke Testing For Episode VIII
By Elaine Tveit
Yesterday, The Wrap reported the shortlist of actresses testing for the lead role in Star Wars: Episode VIII.
According to their report (via Mike the Film Guy), Tatiana Maslany, Gina Rodriguez and Olivia Cooke will soon be testing alongside John Boyega to evaluate each actress’s chemistry with the Episode VII actor.
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From The Wrap:
"“Insiders insist it’s early in the casting process and that Johnson is still auditioning actresses, with several rising stars yet to read for him. Others suggest that Johnson is narrowing down the field and that Rodriguez, Maslany and Cooke will be among a group of girls slated to chemistry-read with “The Force Awakens” star John Boyega before the end of the month.”"
Left to right: Tatiana Maslany, via Orphan Black promo; Gina Rodriguez, via Jane the Virgin Facebook; and Olivia Cooke, via aetv.com
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Tatiana Maslany has received critical acclaim for her lead role as Sarah Manning in the show, Orphan Black, while Gina Rodriguez received a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy with her performance in Jane the Virgin.
Olivia Cooke is a star in the Bates Motel television show, and she also appeared in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. She is reportedly on the shortlist for Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s sci-fi novel, Ready Player One.
I find it interesting that we’re getting yet another heroine (or villain, or in-between) in addition to the large cast of characters we already have for The Force Awakens. Given that whichever actress is chosen will have to have chemistry with John Boyega, it makes me think that the character she will play will be crucial to the storyline. Of course, the character could just be someone like Lando Calrissian: someone important but still secondary to the main protagonists and antagonists.
Stay tuned for further updates.
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