The large cast for J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII may have already been announced, but that hasn’t stopped new casting rumors from finding their way online. They originated with Latino Review, who suggested that Carrie Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd would be joining the production in a cameo role. That would certainly make sense, considering that George Lucas himself found cameos for his own children in the Star Wars prequels. But is there more here than meets the eye?
It didn’t take long for other rumors to trickle in, suggesting that Lourd’s part would be bigger than originally anticipated. According to The Daily Mail, she will be playing a younger version of Princess Leia, presumably in flashbacks:
“Although her daughter Billie Lourd, 21, is a relative unknown, director J.J. Abrams is said to have chosen her to play a young version of her mother’s character because of their visual similarities.
She will have her hair tied up in Princess Leia-style buns. She’s an aspiring actress and singer so she grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Carrie backed the move as she wanted somebody in her family to play her most famous role.”
Lourd may not have any acting credits to her name, but it wouldn’t be out of the question for her to play Leia in a few flashback sequences. That could help flesh out the character’s backstory or show us some events from the original trilogy (or between episodes VI and VII) that we never saw on screen. Now the only question is: Will we be seeing flashbacks featuring other characters, like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, as well?
As with any unannounced Star Wars news and speculation, take this with a grain of salt for now. We have no reason to discredit the source, but there have been so many rumors swirling around about this film that we’ll have to approach all new updates carefully.
Star Wars: Episode VII hits theaters on December 18th, 2015. The film stars returning cast members Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, and Kenny Baker. They’re joined by a new cast that includes John Boyega, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, and Max von Sydow.
