Benedict Cumberbatch on the Episode 7 Rumors.

star wars

There’s been plenty of interviews lately with Benedict Cumberbatch discussing his possible involvement with Star Wars: Episode 7. Most of the interviews were humorous and insignificant. Hit the jump for a more serious answer from Benedict, probably his best one yet…


The excerpt is from the December issue of GQ Magazine (via TFN member VesperBleu):

Urgh! I mean, I think everyone is talking about it apart from JJ and me! Look, I mean, maybe when there’s a script we’ll know for certain, but from what I understand the heroes are really, really young, so that’s late teens early twenties, and then I don’t know, maybe there’s a baddie in there? But I think both JJ and I realize we’ve just done that with another massive sci-fi film, so that obviously hinders things a bit.

I mean, there’s a possibility, of course there is, and JJ knows how much I would love to be a part of it, simply because, more than Star Trek, it really was something I grew up with. It does make me want to do it even more as well [that people want him to do it]. I don’t know. It would be terribly disappointing I suppose if I didn’t, but I completely understand what the reasoning might be, which is that this is too close to what we’ve already done, and what it is that I could do in this film.

I mean, JJ and I are yet to have that discussion and I don’t even know how many of them he is developing at the one time. I’m pretty sure he’s working up one part of three and the spin-off films, there’s a shit load more.


He sounds pretty honest. Obviously there were no real talks yet. And he definitely left the door open. Everything is possible. 

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Born on April 24, 1980.

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

32 thoughts on “Benedict Cumberbatch on the Episode 7 Rumors.

  • December 17, 2013 at 10:31 am
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    If this is true, he seems fairly genuine. I really enjoyed Into Darkness, if he gets a role in SW, he’ll do pretty awesome, he’ll just need to dial down the seriousness a tad…

  • December 17, 2013 at 12:31 pm
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    I hated Star Trek 2009, I ABSOLUTELY hated Into Darkness, I think that Cumberbatch is a horrible ham, while JJ is an average director who only made 1 passable movie so far (M:I 3). The fact that JJ is rewriting the script himself (I think it’s safe to assume at this point that Kasdan’s name is just being used as a decoy) is immensely alarming. I understand that I’m in the absolute minority here, but so far everything works AGAINST the new Star Wars movie.

    • December 17, 2013 at 3:34 pm
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      I am so glad I don’t share your point of view. Don’t get me wrong… if you haven’t enjoyed anything Abrams has done I completely understand your position. I feel bad for ya because it must seem pretty hopeless at this point. Still has much as you dislike his work… you’ve got to admit even JJ’s worse has got to be better than the prequels. I could take Spock yelling Khan over and over compared to episode 1,2 and 3.

    • December 17, 2013 at 5:18 pm
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      Unfortunantly I’m with you. Although Cumberbatch is actually pretty good in Sherlock. And for the record I’d easily take the prequels before the latest Trek movies. Just another reason why this seems pretty hopeless.

    • December 17, 2013 at 5:37 pm
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      I completely agree with you, dear last poster, regarding the new Trek movies vs. the SW prequels. And the worst thing is, I’m not even a demanding viewer: I happen to actually like Star Trek Generations that everybody else hates. It’s just that I find the new Trek movies impossibly, excruciatingly bad.

    • December 17, 2013 at 10:01 pm
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      No way. I liked Generations too. Best Next Gen film in my opinion. That being said I would gladly watch Nemesis multiple times before trying to get through those last 2 disasters. I mean, they found the secret to eternal life in the last one and no one seemed to even care once they resurrected Kirk. It was just a lazy way to finish the plot.

    • December 18, 2013 at 2:59 pm
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      @Gamedev.ru, you can’t be serious.
      I completely disagree. Every bit of information we’ve gotten concerning episode seven has been nothing but clear evidence that everything Disney and Abrams are doing in pre-production is making way for the best installments to the saga since Empire. Creature effects team, Puppeteers, screenwriting rights being handed over to Abrams (who, I’ll say it again, is and has always been an enormous Star Wars fan since the OT was released) and Kasdan (who, as we all know, helped write ESB), so what the hell are you worried about? Abrams has said in several interviews that he wouldn’t allow this movie, by his creative hand, to be anything short of what the fans want. What could he possibly do that’d make this movie as disappointing as the prequels? The only reason why Star Trek wasn’t very good was because he didn’t know and love Trek like he does Star Wars, and he also had no part in writing it. With the guiding eye of Kasdan, and the little bit of influence GL has on the new film’s production, combined with JJ’s unconditional love for the saga and the news we’ve been given so far, I think we’re in great shape. If you’re seriously so blind to the obvious and ignorant enough that you won’t even bother to watch the interviews before making statements like, “so far everything works AGAINST the new Star Wars movie,” I honestly don’t think any self-respecting Star Wars fan reading these posts should take your opinion seriously. The newest Trek movies will seem insignificant in Abrams career once the new trilogy is released in its’ entirety.

    • December 20, 2013 at 2:12 am
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      dopeyjoe, well said. I agree and although you have your opinions of the Star Trek movies, how can you compare them to the new trilogy. Same director sure, COMPLETELY different project. There was already a bad trilogy of Star Wars movies, how can they possibly do it again. Even if you look at it with such a pessimistic view, it won’t sink that low again.

    • December 20, 2013 at 2:43 pm
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      YES, @Jordan Hanna!
      When weighing the pros and cons, no matter how you look at it, this movie has the means of being everything we’ve always wanted from a Star Wars movie since the OT (from a fans perspective). There’s really no concievable way for this to sink the way the prequels did, Abrams just won’t allow it. Every fan should be excited for this movie. If they aren’t, they’re just not looking at the information we’ve recieved so far from a logical vantage point.

  • December 17, 2013 at 12:41 pm
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    I only like him in Sherlock, because he’s brilliant at that smart and mysterious.type of character. He simply can’t play scary badasses very well. Yes it’s a powerful performance, but it’s not believable. Star trek is a prime example, good performance, but nothing special, and he overacted so so much. Star wars can do a lot better than the latest celeb everyone’s talking about, who actually isn’t very good compared to other actors out there, but unfortunately they don’t have 12 year old girls fangirling over them.

    • December 17, 2013 at 5:40 pm
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      To adequately judge his appearance in Into Darkness, one needs to simply switch off the sound for a little while. What’s left is overacting taken to an extreme degree + strange, out of place grimacing here and there. And unfortunately, both he and JJ bear the blame for such an atrocious performance.

    • December 18, 2013 at 4:04 pm
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      Totally disagree. Cumberbatch in Chan’s role deliver one of the most powerful villains of the last years. Unfortunately there will be no Grand Admiral Thrawn a character for witch Cumberbatch would have been the first and best choice. This actor with his clear and distinctive voice is a must for a villain role but i must say in my opinion D.Vader cannot been surpassed by anyone….

    • December 21, 2013 at 8:30 pm
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      haha good call on the thrawn thing I never thought of that .

  • December 17, 2013 at 12:42 pm
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    I would love to see Cumberbatch as Grand Admiral Thrawn. Even though the timelines are fucked up, I can see JJ Abrams and Casdan rewrite it. I know it’s been said that they are writing a new story ignoring the timeline from the expanded universe, but Grand Admiral Thrawn deserves a great actor, director and movie.

    • December 18, 2013 at 4:14 pm
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      Totally agree as i said in my previous reply …B.C is a must for G.A Thrawns role.
      I’m curious to see how they will fit these new ones in the E.U …maybe they will ignore it, witch is very very bad…and they’ll probably do so us there is no room for a new saga. They gave so much permissions to so many writers and now they must ignore them….always thinking the money George.

  • December 17, 2013 at 3:27 pm
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    i totally agree..thrawn would make a terrific addition to the star wars movies..but i like Daniel day Lewis for the part..or even a sith lord..sensational actor who would fit star wars like a glove

  • December 17, 2013 at 5:09 pm
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    Said on this site before…….

    He would be awesome as Grand Moff Tarkin’s grandson…….

    I’m just saying.

  • December 17, 2013 at 5:17 pm
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    I could accept Cumberbatch if they change his appearance, but have him exactly as he is would be a bad move, since he has a very specifik look & they used his normal appearance in Star Trek, but if they changed his face a little bit, with colour & some alien features so we don´t direclty see that it is him, it could definitly work

    • December 18, 2013 at 4:12 pm
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      They could just add some prosthetics to enhance his facial features to make him look much older, I wouldn’t be opposed to that at all, especially if he were to play Tarkin’s grandson, @Darthjaegod.

  • December 17, 2013 at 6:04 pm
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    I totally agree with him being Tarkins grandson. Imagine him commandeering the Imperial remnant and being forced into an uneasy alliance with the Republic, because of some galaxy threatening 3rd faction rising… I could see some great acting of Tarkin’s progeny sqauing of against Leia and the Alderaan survivors…

  • December 17, 2013 at 8:22 pm
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    “the heroes are really, really young, so that’s late teens early twenties”

    Oh dear god. Please don’t let this be Twilight in Space. Pretty please.

    • December 17, 2013 at 10:24 pm
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      ^in case you haven’t noticed, the protagonists in every Star Wars were pretty young.

    • December 17, 2013 at 10:40 pm
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      Exactly. I think Luke and Leia were both aged 19. Are people really surprised that this film is going to feature people who aren’t middle aged??..

    • December 18, 2013 at 4:08 pm
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      “Oh dear god. Please don’t let this be Twilight in Space. Pretty please.” Where the fuck did you find evidence that brought you to this irrelevent, inconcievable and entirely unlikely idea?

  • December 17, 2013 at 10:23 pm
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    Of COURSE he’s going to be in VII. That was a given ever since his first interview when he denied any involvement with Star Wars.

    Because he works closely with J J Abrams and Abrams went through the same routine. “I will NOT be directing Star Wars VII” Abrams said late last year.

    • December 18, 2013 at 4:26 pm
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      Yeah…imagine him saying… ” Grand Admiral Thrawn to bridge …execute the Marg Sabl closure maneuver”… or ” Patient Master C’Baoth the jedi will be delivered to you”……

  • December 18, 2013 at 4:40 am
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    Everyone assumes if Cumberbatch is cast that he will be a bad guy it seems. He’s a pretty strong actor, so I’d imagine he’d do well in other roles should he end up in these movies.

  • December 18, 2013 at 4:40 am
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    I enjoyed both Star Trek by JJ. I read there are people who doesn’t even in a SW board. I can safely say these people are trekkies jumping ship to SW and that is a good thing because us SW fans are just into actions and JJ made the last 2 ST movies like SW. Come to think about it, they shouldn’t jump tp SW because we simply like actions. They should go embrace Twilight. Since they wear their Starfleet uniforms to works and shit, Twilight will make these Trekkies more acceptable for the public.

    • December 18, 2013 at 8:34 am
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      >> JJ made the last 2 ST movies like SW
      He didn’t, he made them like crap.

      >> They should go embrace Twilight
      I can’t tell if you’re trolling!..

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