CO said:

SilverWook said:

And before anyone starts kvetching about J.J. hiring people he's worked with before, remember George kept hiring that Harrison Ford guy long after American Graffiti.

Actually, Tom Selleck was their first choice for Indiana Jones, but he was contractually obligated to Magnum PI at the time.

And Christopher Walken was Lucas's first choice for Han Solo, as he would have been a much darker character then the more sarcastic that Ford ended up playing him.

I'd heard about Walken auditioning for Han Solo (the Kevin Spacey snl skit has made it infamous), but this is the first I've read of him being Lucas' first choice. Fascinating. I wonder who overruled him (or got him to change his mind).

Anyway, I'm a little surprised no one here mentioned the casting rumors from last week about Alex Pettyfer and Rachel Hurd-Wood. The overwhelming response to the Pettyfer rumor was "Oh, Please God, NO," but Hurd-Wood looks like she'd do nicely. I haven't seen any of her movies, only know of her as the girl from that Peter Pan movie from a decade ago, but she's a talented actress by all accounts. Her imdb photo screams Star Wars imo.

Since the production is filming in the U.K., they're obviously trying to cast locally. The casting rumor from last week teased a "big rumor" for this week, and now we know it's Cumberbatch. That makes two Abrams alums whose names have been floated (the other being Jonathen Rhys-Meyers).

I think it's a foregone conclusion Simon Pegg will get his friend J.J. to cast him in this. To me it just seems too obvious to not happen.

So, aside from Ryan Gosling and Zack Effron, any other casting rumors I'm forgetting?