As we stand at 70 days out from The Force Awakens, there's been little on the news front about either Episode VIII, Rogue One or even The Force Awakens.
As we know, director Rian Johnson was on Skellig Michael with a crew to shoot some scenes for Episode VIII with Mark Hamill. We also know that Benicio Del Toro is more or less confirmed to star in the film as well, but now it appears another casting has been made in the follow-up to The Force Awakens.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who starred in the early season of Doctor Who's reboot and Wachowski sci-fi dud Jupiter Ascending, has been reportedly cast in an unspecified role by Rian Johnson. The report, by Collider, suggests that the deal is close to being finalised, however there's been no official confirmation from Lucasfilm or Disney on the news.
Mbatha-Raw's career has been in a steady upward trajectory since she wowed critics in the period drama, Belle. Next year alone will see her star in the Oscar-bait drama The Free State of Jones alongside Matthew McConaughey, she has a meaty role in the NFL / Will Smith sports-drama Concussion and she's starring in the Emma Watson-led Beauty & The Beast live-action remake.
All in all, she's got a solid filmography behind her so there's no reason why she won't be amazing in the role and confirms that Lucasfilm's castings have been, so far, absolutely on-point.
Via Collider