Lupita Nyong'o 'Star Wars: Episode VII:' Oscar Winner to Cast as Female Lead Sith?
"12 Years a Slave" star Lupita Nyong-o won an Oscar award as best supporting actress in March and to add to that, she also reportedly met with J.J. Abrams before the Academy Awards, surfacing her connection to Star Wars Episode VII possibly as a descendant of Obi-Wan Kenobi which has previously been described as a non-Caucasian role. It still remains unclear which role she could take because of the secrecy but there are also a search for two characters in their twenties, male and female.
Abrams is still meeting with actors for some of his leads that remain uncast. Adam Driver is said to be in final negotiations to play an undisclosed villain in the movie while Jesse Plemons, John Boyega and Ed Speleers are also in the mix. "Star Wars Episode VII" is set to cast veterans Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. Other stars rumoured for parts in the movie include Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alex Pettyfer, Michael Fassbender, Michael B. Jordan and Saoirse Ronan.
There are speculations that Lupita will land a role as Sith in a skin-tight futuristic suit with a light saber. It also appears that fans want Lupita and Benedict Cumberbatch to play Sith Lord and Lady like Macbeth and Lady Macbeth of Star Wars.
After her 12-Years win, everyone is excited to know which steps she would take to firm up her film career that already started off big. Nyong-o graduated from Yale University School of Drama and had a role in an MTV series called "Shuga" from 2009 to 2012. She had a small role in the movie "Non-Stop" with Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson. In the following weeks, she contended for a high profile role as Tiger Lily in Warner Bro.'s "Pan." She might also land a role in "The Whole Truth," a courtroom drama series starring Daniel Craig.
When TMZ asked people close to Nyong-o about the Star Wars role rumours, they only said, "We are not allowed to talk about that." The 31-year-old actress delivered an emotional speech upon accepting the Academy award in February saying, "No matter where you are from, your dreams are valid."
"Star Wars Episode VII" is set to release on Dec. 18, 2015. It is expected that movie production will start in the spring in Los Angeles and the UK.