In case you were curious, here’s our ‘Star Wars’ spin-off dream cast
2015 is going to bring lots of news from a galaxy far, far away. So, if you’re someone who has never really been “into” Star Wars, prepare yourself for the upcoming onslaught of gossip, rumors, pictures, spoilers, x-wings, and people holding lightsabers for the next twelve months. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens December 18th, 2015. If that’s not enough new Star Wars for you, be prepared for at LEAST two more movies in that trilogy, and then the planned Star Wars spin-offs, a series of flicks focusing on our beloved Star Wars characters, launching in 2016. The latter has a pretty juicy rumor circulating right now: Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul might play Han Solo in one of those spin-offs.
Hold up. If you’re someone who, like me, has lots and lots of feelings about Han Solo, and Aaron Paul, this is very exciting news. It’s also very confusing news, because Han Solo will always be Harrison Ford to me. But, these spin-offs are happening, so I better start getting used to the idea of new faces for some of the most iconic characters of all time. And, if there’s anyone to embody a new, scruffy-looking nerf-herder, it might as well be Jesse, right? I can get behind this.
Han Solo won’t be the only character revamped, of course. What about Luke, Leia, Lando and Chewbacca? There’s nothing set in stone for these spin-offs, or even what parts of the Star Wars universe they’ll cover. Strictly on speculation, and excitement, who would make great members of the next Rebel Alliance? I have some ideas.
LUKE SKYWALKER
Fun fact: Aaron Paul actually just played Luke in Jason Reitman’s stage reading of Empire Strikes Back. But, we’re going to have to go ahead and disqualify him for this role in all future spinoffs. So who else might be able to play the (sometimes whiney) guy who brings balance to the force? Josh Hutcherson. Can’t you see him out on the sands of Tatooine, complaining about moisture farming?
PRINCESS LEIA
Princess Leia is a force (no pun intended) to be reckoned with. She doesn’t take sass from anyone, so whoever plays Leia has to have that same type of spirit. The go-to choice is obviously Jennifer Lawrence, but what about some other up and coming actresses who would make a great princess (though, not a damsel in distress)?
I could totally see Kat Dennings taking on the role, or Lizzy Caplan. OR, Alison Brie. OR, Natalie Dormer. Or, Leighton Meester, Mila Kunis, Rachel Bilson, Hannah Simone, Jamie Chung, Caity Lotz. Clearly, we are in no short supply of strong, independent female actresses. Any one of them would be a perfect choice. It’s about time we saw more of Leia’s life on Alderaan.
LANDO CALRISSIAN
Yeah, there could be a list of fine actors who could easily step into the role of Lando Calrisian, the smooth talking cape-wearing man-about-town of Cloud City. However, there’s only one person I want to see play a young Lando: Aziz Ansari. Now that you’re thinking about it, that’s all you want in life, too.
OBI-WAN KENOBI
Obi-Wan has already been played by two different actors on the screen: the late Sir Alec Guinness, and Ewan McGregor. Both brought the same wise mentor spirit to the role, so whoever plays a young Ben Kenobi (or midd-aged Ben Kenobi, depending on when they set the movie) needs that same wise spirit about them. Also, they’ve got to be British—not up for debate. So, Martin Freeman sounds like a pretty good choice. But if he’s going to be younger — much younger, in his 20s — I think Daniel Radcliffe or Nicholas Hoult would be perfect choices.
BOBA FETT
A pretty prominent rumor through the Star Wars universe (and one that looks to be true) is that one of the spin-offs will focus on the bounty hunter, and he’ll probably take his helmet off and have some dialogue. Supposedly someone was cast — the same actor who played Boba in Attack of the Clones (supposedly). But there’s been no other Star Wars whispers about it since. Is it true? I feel like there should be more pomp and circus surrounding the casting. If it’s not true, who is the man behind the helmet? Do you kinda want it to be Zac Efron? Because I kinda want it to be Zac Efron, and then I want to see him square off with Aaron Paul’s Han Solo. Let’s make this happen.
CHEWBACCA
I think we can all safely assume that Chewbacca will always be played by Chewbacca.
These are just my suggestions, and everyone has strong feelings about our beloved space saga. Who do you want to see in the major roles?
