Rooney Mara linked to Gareth Edwards' Star Wars spin-off

As we all wait feverishly for the next Star Wars: Episode VII trailer to land, the cogs are still turning on the numerous spin-off movies Disney has planned.

And according to The Hollywood Reporter, director Gareth Edwards already has a shortlist of young actress he'd like for the lead in his Star Wars spin-off.

Included on that list are actresses Rooney Mara, Tatiana Maslany and Felicity Jones.

Mara is probably the most well-known of the trio, thanks to her role in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and sources say she's already tested for Edwards.

Meanwhile, Maslany will be familiar to fans of TV show Orphan Black, and has also been on camera for the undisclosed role. And Jones reportedly jumped onto Edwards' list after her Oscar nom for The Theory Of Everything.

Just which role the actresses are queuing up for remains to be seen, but with the Star Wars spin-offs set to follow some of the franchise's key characters, we wouldn't be surprised if they ended up sporting some Chelsea buns down the line.

Edwards' Star Wars spin-off opens in cinemas on 16 December 2016.

Josh Winning

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.