Rumor: Tatiana Maslany lands lead role in Star Wars spinoff

According to Total Geeks, Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany has landed the lead role in the first Star Wars spinoff. The Canadian actress was linked to the part last week when her name appeared on a shortlist along with Rooney Mara and Felicity Jones.

The rumor has since been corroborated by The Mary Sue, whose sources also confirmed she has bagged the coveted part after impressing folks at Disney and Lucasfilm.

The fact that Maslany recently dropped out of a pivotal role in Neil LaBute’s forthcoming off-Broadway play over “scheduling differences” lends further weight to the speculation.

No word yet on who she’ll be playing, but her phenomenal performance(s) in Orphan Black suggests we’re in for a treat.

Currently in development, the as-yet untitled standalone flick will be directed by Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards. It made the headlines earlier this week when news broke that About A Boy writer-director Chris Weitz had joined the project to hone the script. He replaces previous scribe Gary Whitta who exited the film after working on its screenplay for a year.

The Star Wars spinoff lands in theaters on December 16, 2016.

Gem Seddon

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter. 

Latest in Star Wars Movies
The Rise of Skywalker
Despite those retirement reports, Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy is "very involved" in the Rey Star Wars movie, according to Daisy Ridley
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
After 26 years, a secret Star Wars reference to George Lucas has been uncovered: "We got a new Phantom Menace Easter Egg before GTA 6"
Liam Neeson in The Phantom Menace
"Wise mentor" or "awful Jedi"? Star Wars fans are debating if Qui-Gon Jinn is to blame for Anakin's turn to the dark side
Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Longlegs director pitches horrifying Star Wars movie with Darth Vader, and we want it to happen
Werner Herzog in The Mandalorian
Star Wars fans are sharing their favorite unbelievable canon cameos – and some of them are seriously deep-cut
Kathleen Kennedy standing with a bunch of Stormtroopers
Star Wars' Kathleen Kennedy debunks retirement reports, as she shares plans for the future of Lucasfilm: "I will die making movies"
Latest in News
Death Stranding 2 kiss
Hideo Kojima says "it was very difficult to direct" Death Stranding 2's big kiss scene, but Norman Reedus thinks "it was niiice" locking lips with Léa Seydoux
ben starr dressed in harlequin makeup chomping down on a banana
Balatro creator says it's "useless" for him to give advice to other devs because "I only have one data point" and it was a 5 million-sale success story
George R.R. Martin
Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has a new update on The Winds of Winter: "I wish it would come faster"
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing Astarion, a pale male elf with short curly white hair and red eyes, looking over his shoulder with a smirk on his face
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor comes face to face with what might just be the best merch to come of the RPG yet – a 5-foot Funko Pop figure of his character
Drop
New horror movie starring White Lotus and Yellowstone actors gets a great Rotten Tomatoes score as early reactions call it the "perfect date night movie"
Lois and Peter in Family Guy season 23
After 11 years, Family Guy suddenly brings back a deep-cut character for season 23