Forest Whitaker has made occasional trips into science fiction and fantasy in his career, but it seems he’s ready to make the biggest leap yet. The actor is in talks to join both the remake of The Crow and** Star Wars: Rogue One.
Let’s start with the Star Wars film, or to give it its full title, Star Wars Anthologies: Rogue One. With Gareth Edwards directing, the focus is on the time before the events of Star Wars itself, AKA A New Hope. Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed and Diego Luna are all part of a rag-tag rebel squad looking to heist the plans for the original Death Star. Ben Mendelsohn, meanwhile, is aboard as a villain in some capacity. And Whitaker? That’s still being kept behind the movie’s defensive deflector shields for now.
And then there’s** The Crow**, which has Corin Hardy attempting a new adaptation of James O’Barr’s tragic graphic novel about a rocker a role which will now need to be re-cast, as Variety reports that Jack Huston has dropped out), who is killed by thugs and returned from the dead by a supernatural force to seek vengeance. Andrea Riseborough is attached as the villainous Top Dollar, but it’s not yet known whether Whitaker will be on the side of good or bad. According to Variety, it appears he’ll work on The Crow before he heads to the galaxy far, far away.
Whitaker is at work on Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi drama The Story Of Your Life right now, and has boxing drama Southpaw due here on July 24.
For eveything we know about Rogue One, read our complete guide.