Star Wars: Rogue One, the franchise's first spinoff film, has found its prime target for the lead role. Riz Ahmed, best known for supporting role in Nightcrawler, is Disney's top choice for top billing, Variety reports. Felicty Jones is set to play a rebel in the film, and sources say Ahmed's chemistry with her has made him standout amongst the other young actors who've met with director Gareth Edwards.
The upcoming film will focus on a group of rebels seeking to steal plans for the Death Star a few years before the events of Episode IV. "It comes down to a group of individuals that don’t have magic powers, that have to bring hope to the galaxy," Edwards said at last week's Star Wars Celebration.
If Ahmed ends up playing with one of the rebels, he'll likely have to dodge some blaster bolts to steal the blueprints. The photo above from his Riz MC music project indicates he has experience in that field.
Rogue One is set for a Dec. 16. 2016 release.
