When you consider the fact that Rooney Mara and her sister Kate Mara are only two years apart in age, it makes a lot of sense that they would be considered for the same roles. This surely doesn't help in any kind of sibling rivalry sense, and one can imagine the competition growing more intense in direct correlation with the size of the project or part they are pursuing. That in mind, the two Mara siblings might soon get ready to go to war, as apparently both of them are going out for the female lead in Gareth Edward's upcoming Star Wars spin-off movie.
This interesting tidbit comes directly from Variety reporter Justin Kroll, who dropped the scoop about Kate Mara potentially being up for a role in the new Star Wars movie on his personal Twitter account. This news is coming about 24 hours after the story from last night that said Rooney Mara is also one of the candidates up for the part. Also currently being tested for the role is the Academy Award nominated Felicity Jones - who may not be able to do the film because of a scheduling conflict involving Ron Howard's Inferno - and Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany.
But while we know that the Maras, Jones and Maslany are all vying for the female lead in Gareth Edwards' Star Wars spin-off, that's pretty much where the information about the project ends. There has been no official word from Lucasfilm or the Walt Disney Company regarding what the plot of the film will be about - though we have heard some interesting rumors. Previous reports have suggested that the movie could actually be set in the time period right before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, and follow a group of bounty hunters who are hired by the Rebel Alliance to steal plans for the original Death Star. It's also been said that the feature could actually be centered around the adventures of a young Han Solo. It's also possible that those two ideas are actually two parts of the same larger idea.
Because there's so little known about the Star Wars project, it's impossible to say if Kate Mara would be a good fit for the part - though she did just recently get her first dose of blockbuster experience playing Sue Storm a.k.a. The Invisible Woman in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. She may have a bit of an edge as a result of this, if not only because Josh Trank - The Fantastic Four's director - is attached to helm a Star Wars spin-off movie of his own. It also doesn't hurt that she is a talented actress who has shown her skills on shows like House of Cards and American Horror Story.
Gary Whitta - whose credits include The Book of Eli and After Earth - was originally hired to write the script on the first ever Star Wars spin-off movie, though apparently his time on the project has come to an end. It's unclear exactly who will wind up replacing him, but that information should come in the next few months, along with a slew of other big announcements. After all, production is going to be starting in the first half of 2015, and all of the pieces have to start getting put into place. Apparently it seems that starts with finding the female lead.
