Diego Luna, the acclaimed actor-turned-director who starred in Milk and helmed Cesar Chavez, has joined the cast of Star Wars: Rogue One, Variety reports.
The spinoff, which already stars Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler) and Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline), will be an ensemble piece about the heist of Death Star blueprints by a group of rebel fighters. It’s set between Episode III and Episode IV, but closer to A New Hope. Jones and Ahmed are set as members of the rebel squad deployed to retrieve the plans, while Mendelsohn will be the villain of the piece. Luna is reportedly also playing a rebel.
Luna is a prolific actor best known for Elysium, The Terminal and Y Tu Mama Tambien. He most recently shot Blood Father, starring alongside Mel Gibson, and is preparing to play a key role in Jason Momoa starrer The Bad Batch. The actor is also in post-production on Mr. Pig, a film he wrote, directed and produced.
Rogue One, which is to be directed by Godzilla helmer Gareth Edwards, has been shrouded in secrecy since day one, with Disney and Lucasfilm not commenting on casting news such as this. Expect more actors to pop up in association with the project in the coming weeks, though, as it’s said to feature a big cast and take inspiration from The Dirty Dozen and Saving Private Ryan.
No word yet on whether The Hunger Games: Catching Fire breakout Sam Claflin, who was rumored for a part around the same time Ahmed’s name entered the mix, is still involved, but we’ll keep you posted when we hear more.
Star Wars: Rogue One is set for December 16th, 2016.
