2013’s stupidest Star Wars VII rumours

As soon as Disney announced a seventh ‘Star Wars’ film on October 30th 2012 it quickly became apparent that escaping news about the sci-fi juggernaut’s return would become impossible.
 
Interest in the franchise is obviously enormous, so understandably news outlets began to clamour for any scrap of information about ‘Episode VII’.

[What was it like to audition for 'Star Wars VII'?]
 
As sure as night follows day, nonsense flooded the internet in an attempt to fill those gaps between the official announcements that have been few and far between. So here are some of more ridiculous ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ stories from 2013…

 
Carrie Fisher confirmed as Princess Leia… by James Blunt
If you missed this story then the headline pretty much says it all. It’s the standard “Friend of X says X is in Y” story but the friend in question is singer-songwriter James bloody Blunt.

[Carrie Fisher's ideas for 'Star Wars VII']
 
Of course it’s been known for a while that Carrie Fisher will return to the series alongside Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, so the story only really exists because it makes for a barmy but brilliant headline.
 
While ridiculous, the pair did actually live together and have been friends for a while, so maybe this makes sense.

Florence Welch for leading role
This one is an absurd casting rumour for the ages. Over the years there have been some corkers - Larry David and Eddie Murphy as The Riddler for example, but at least in those cases they’re actors.

[Florence Welch for leading role in 'Star Wars 7'?]
 
In what reality could anyone possibly believe that Florence Welch (of “& The Machine” fame) could or would land the lead in one of the biggest movies ever made?
 
Whether someone was pulling The Sun’s leg or they were pulling all of ours, somehow this story was written and published.

Jennifer Lawrence as a young Han Solo
Okay, so nobody was seriously suggesting this, but the argument made by the Screen Crush article was actually pretty strong.

[The story behind Jennifer Lawrence and emotional fan at 'Catching Fire' premiere]
 
The article argues that the only thing preventing Lawrence from being perfect for the role of a young Solo is her lack of Y chromosome, and it makes a lot of sense.
 
Things only got strange when Lawrence was asked about the article. Delightfully awkward as ever, the Oscar-winner laughed off the idea, calling it “awful” and “awesome” at the same time. “It’ll probably be male, but I have always wanted to play a man,” she added.

Ryan Gosling & Zac Efron to star
Rumoured at the same time, the pair of poster boys reportedly auditioned for unspecified roles that could have been those of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo’s sons respectively.

[Ryan Gosling 'Star Wars' rumours "false"]
 
Ryan Gosling has never been the type for big budget blockbusters and seeing Efron in ‘Star Wars’ would be strange to say the least, so let’s just assume this was dreamed up as some SEO wizardry.
 
That said, Efron did pop in an article of ours arguing he might be a good choice for Solo’s son. Maybe we were onto something…

Ewan McGregor back as a force ghost
Just like Samuel L Jackson, Ewan McGregor - who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogy - came face-to-face with interviewers baring an abundance of questions about a potential return.
 
McGregor said himself that he was probably too young and if Obi-Wan was to return the filmmakers would want someone who looks like Sir Alec Guinness. Despite this and despite it being hard to imagine anyone believing  them, the rumours persisted.

The title of Episode VII will be...
Leading up to the release of 'Star Wars: Episode 1' in 1999, one of the most oft-discussed aspects was its subtitle. It was long rumoured to be called 'The Balance of the Force', but instead Lucas in his mighty wisdom opted for 'The Phantom Menace' which sounds (to us anyway) like a euphemism for flatulence.

['Star Wars: Episode 7' gets a potential title?]

This time around, the rumours have been swirling again, with Screen Rant reporting the film's working titles to be 'Return of the Sith' and 'Rise of the Jedi', either of which would be an improvement on 'Phantom Menace'. Elsewhere 'A New Dawn' has been suggested, but that's a little too close to 'A New Hope' for our liking.

Rise of the Thespians
Many serious actors have been linked with roles in 'Episode VII' including Chiwitel Ejiofor, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, but this rumour, courtesy of film blogger El Mayimbe at Latino Review, takes the biscuit.

He linked Oscar-winning method actor Daniel Day-Lewis with a part in the new film after... wait for it... spotting the thespian having lunch with George Lucas and the film's producer Kathleen Kennedy.

[The craziest ways Daniel Day-Lewis prepared for roles]

We'd love to see this happen, but we think Day-Lewis' immersive acting technique would probably require him to actually be able to use the Force before he took the part.

'Star Wars: Episode VII' will be released in cinemas worldwide on December 18, 2015.