REPORT: Benedict Cumberbatch Has Been Cast in 'Star Wars: Episode VII'

While Marvel has been making casting announcements like crazy, its corporate sibling Lucasfilm has remained remarkably quiet when it comes to Star Wars: Episode VII. With an expected May 2015 release date, there's still a lot of time to reveal things like plot points and a title. According to a report by Film Chronicles, we're on the verge of a big casting announcement from Lucasfilm. The big name?

Benedict Cumberbatch.

Does that Cumberbatch news about him dropping out of Guillermo del Toro’s horror movie ‘Crimson Peak’ now seem to have a cause. At the time, no reason for his departure was given, although sources said his exit was not due to another project. Classic misdirection!

Way back when JJ Abrams was hired to direct Episode VII, I predicted that at least one actor from Abrams' previous movies would show up in the new Star Wars franchise. I quickly eliminated Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, since as Kirk and Spock, that duo is much too intertwined with Star Trek. Cumberbatch is perfect though. Sure, he was Whats-His-Face in Star Trek Into Darkness, but a starring role in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy would trump that.

With every day that passes, we're closer to a Lucasfilm announcement. Yes, that's an obvious statement, but it's true. Let's see if Cumberbatch is part of that announcement.