UPDATE! For Your Consideration: More Possible Candidates for the Star Wars: Episode 7 Lead.

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After revealing that Adam Driver is in line to play the villain in the next Star Wars movie, Variety continues to tease with a possible short list of candidates for the main male lead…

From Variety:

After meeting with several young actors this past year, sources tell Variety that “Downton Abbey” thesp Ed Speleers, “Attack the Block” star John Boyega, Jesse Plemons and theater actors Matthew James Thomas, and Ray Fisher are among the men J.J. Abrams is eyeing for the lead role. Though some insiders warn the search is still ongoing, multiple sources confirm to Variety these actors have moved to the top of the list in recent weeks.

Disney had no comment.
Exact details of the character are vague but the part is believed to be a Jedi apprentice. The original draft by Michael Arndt was said to focus on Han Solo and Princess Leia’s kids, however, Abrams and Kasdan’s recent rewrite reportedly puts their offspring in a supporting role.

Sources also indicate the reason for the delay has to do whether execs and creatives want someone of a different ethnicity from the previous Caucasian leads. Abrams has said on numerous occasions that he wants to have a diversified cast, which is why actors like David Oyewolo and Michael B. Jordan tested early on.

As previously reported, Abrams is expected to surround the less-familiar actor with more recognizable stars for supporting parts, including original “Star Wars” cast members Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill.

UPDATE!

Variety made a poll about who should play the lead role in Episode 7 with all of the contenders they revealed yesterday. What’s interesting is that the Twitter account of Kathleen Kennedy/Frank Marshall’s production company  re-tweeted the link to that poll question. Is this giving more credibility to the list? Maybe. The tweet is now deleted so the situation is even more mysterious.

Well whatever the case, seeing the poll results this possible casting list suffered a devastating blow from the fans.

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To be honest I voted “none of the above” too. Some of the names are good but they just doesn’t fit with my idea of LEAD. I think they will be great for a support role though.

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

73 thoughts on “UPDATE! For Your Consideration: More Possible Candidates for the Star Wars: Episode 7 Lead.

  • March 12, 2014 at 8:45 pm
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    As long as they play Twi’leks, cast them all!

    • March 12, 2014 at 8:55 pm
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      No reason. It was just a silly nonsensical comment. However, it would be kind of interesting if the entire ep7 cast were all Twi’leks, or all Rodians, or all Wookiees, or all Ewoks.

    • March 12, 2014 at 8:57 pm
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      None of those would make any sense. A 95% Duros cast would be interesting.

  • March 12, 2014 at 8:46 pm
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    Well, I guess I’ll say it… Ben Skywalker?

  • March 12, 2014 at 8:47 pm
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    Hmmm…that last sentence is interesting. No mention of Carrie Fisher.

  • March 12, 2014 at 8:56 pm
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    “The original draft by Michael Arndt was said to focus on Han Solo and Princess Leia’s kids, however, Abrams and Kasdan’s recent rewrite reportedly puts their offspring in a supporting role.” Yeah, I like the idea of Leia and Han’s kids as the supporting roles with Luke’s kid as the main, just to follow the structure of having one main character and two sidekicks, instead of two main characters. And holy mother of crap Matthew James Thomas looks so so so much like mark hamill did in the star wras films it’s kind of scary actually.. And if he’s been narrowed down for the actual lead then he must certainly have a load of talent. So if he’s playing Luke’s son then he definitely gets my vote.

    • March 13, 2014 at 7:27 am
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      Isnt it just stupid to have Luke having children ? how many time in these movies we were told that Jedi dont get married, dont have kids ?…lmfao !!!!! if they got Luke having kids, then wtf waz the point having Yoda, Qui-gon, mace, etc saying all the time about Jedi dont have kids ? Jedi dont have relationships… How many times ?… if Luke has kids in part 7, then this whole thing will stink up the place bad… Han and Leia having kidz is fine because leia didnt become a Jedi, or so we think… which can make the plot fun, but, having Luke with a wife and kids is just so stupid… but hey, im just another SW fan that enjoyed the stories and creations ( even if the prequels was boring in plot ), so what do i know… but all im saying is if Luke has kids, and a wife, then this movie will turn to shit… trust me… it wont make anu sense..

    • March 13, 2014 at 6:29 pm
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      ” how many time in these movies we were told that Jedi dont get married,” Luke was not once told this. Well unless you’re talking about the prequels or whatever which the jedi order was disbanded. Luke is the only remaining Jedi left. I think it’s safe for him to have a kid..
      “all im saying is if Luke has kids, and a wife, then this movie will turn to shit… trust me… it wont make anu sense..” Yeah because character having a wife and kids is sooo wacky and insane isn’t it. I soooo trust you… Seriously Jedi are just normal people, but they’re like wizards with glowy swords. They’re not nuns.. Stop making star wars so boring. Ignore the prequels. The whole ‘don’t fall in love’ thing was just contrived to create angst for Anakin. The more stuff they contradict from the prequels the better, with all it’s not-allowed-to-love and the-force-is-midichlorian rubbish.

  • March 12, 2014 at 8:57 pm
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    Don’t they understand that the show is called Downton Abbey, not DOWNTOWN.. Abbey?

    • March 12, 2014 at 9:00 pm
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      It’s not an abbey downtown, it’s an abbey near the city of Downton…

  • March 12, 2014 at 9:13 pm
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    God i hope john boyega gets it..
    He was amazing in attack the block

    • March 13, 2014 at 12:00 am
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      I find your lack of casting disturbing.

    • March 13, 2014 at 3:06 am
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      And why would you say that? Attack the Block is a fun film, and I liked John’s very calculated understated performance.

  • March 12, 2014 at 9:43 pm
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    Maybe they are all going to be in the movie! Think about it, they could be young Jedis’ in training. It could be kind of like Glee in space, with Luke as the teacher trying to keep all these bratty kids in line. Some of the kids are being swayed by the Dark Side.

  • March 12, 2014 at 9:54 pm
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    Well, judging from the photos on their IMDB pages, I could definitely see Speleers as Han and Leia’s son, and Thomas as Luke’s son.

    I’ve never seen either of them act, so I’ve no idea what their chops are like. But from a visual standpoint I think they’d be a good fit.

    (Your mileage may vary, natch!) ;^)

    • March 12, 2014 at 10:11 pm
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      Hm. I’d have put that the other way around but Thomas definitely looks like he could be either.

    • March 12, 2014 at 10:25 pm
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      It’s interesting that Boyega and Ray are mentioned to play one of the leads. Simply for the fact they are black. Luke Leia and Han weren’t black so I highly doubt they will pick a black person to play any of their son’s. Thomas looks a lot like Mark did in star wars and a clear choice to play Luke’s son. Plus he works on broadway, he hasn’t been in many movies or tv shows like the others so he’s much more unknown to the general public which is good. Him and Ksenia Solo are probably the two rumoured actors that have made the most sense so far. Ksenia is one of the best young actresses around at playing witty wisecracking badasses, which is essentially what Leia and Han were as characters so she is the perfect fit for their kid.

    • March 12, 2014 at 10:51 pm
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      I’m really hoping the Ksenia rumor is true, she’d do quite well..

    • March 12, 2014 at 11:00 pm
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      I’m just hoping the rumor is true and there will be SOME female character. Everything I’ve been hearing so far sounds like an all-boys club.

    • March 12, 2014 at 11:34 pm
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      Well of course there will be one. Saoirse Ronan confirmed she auditioned for it. I too have all my fingers and toes crossed for Ksenia.

    • March 13, 2014 at 12:25 am
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      It could be that there aren’t rumors about women anymore… because they’ve been cast. Assuming the re-write information is accurate, the earlier indications of a female lead could turn out bogus (Ronan was auditioned before the re-write?). But then again, this rumor is encouraging in that if they want ethnic they probably want women too.

    • March 13, 2014 at 3:16 am
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      True, but knowing Disney, I can easily see them writing women out of this film completely, just to keep their boy audiences happy.

      Or, take it back. There will be one woman character surrounded by 4 or 5 men characters, like Avengers.

    • March 13, 2014 at 6:32 pm
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      Having no girls would be awful for Disney.. How could they possibly market it for girls if there isn’t a girl in it? Star wars is mostly for guys, it doesn’t matter to them. Guys will see it no matter what characters are in it. Having a female lead or sidekick will actually make the guy’s girlfriend come along too. Hence more audience and cash for Disney. An all-guy-fest would be terrible

  • March 12, 2014 at 10:10 pm
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    Nooooo…i want boyega!!!!!
    Lead role….

    • March 12, 2014 at 10:52 pm
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      He doesn’t really fit star wars though

    • March 12, 2014 at 10:53 pm
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      In what way? I’m not very familiar with him

    • March 12, 2014 at 11:28 pm
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      boyega is very dramatic. Luke Leia and Han were all swashbuckling and there’s far better and more versatile actors that fit those kinds of roles compared to boyega I think. Good actor but not great and certainly not lead-role material to be honest.

    • March 13, 2014 at 3:08 am
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      To Anonymous, I think you just pulled that out of your buttocks, dismissing him on what grounds? Being a dramatic actor who is classically trained back in London? It doesn’t carry any weight.

    • March 13, 2014 at 3:18 am
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      ^It kinda sounds like OT fans dismissing the PT trilogy because the story is about politics and the fact that Episodes I-III doen’t have a gritty look.

      Talk about not carrying any weight.

    • March 13, 2014 at 3:51 am
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      @Anon March 13 3:18 PM

      That has nothing to do with the merits and potential merits of an actor. And I don’t think people ‘dismiss’ the PT because it’s about politics, they ‘dismiss’ them because they’re poorly made films with flimsy plots.

    • March 13, 2014 at 6:35 pm
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      People dismiss the prequels because they were badly written and directed films. They were not good pieces of filmmaking. The only merit to the awful films was that it took place in the brilliant universe of star wars. And it’s not dismissing boyega because he’s “classically trained”, it’s dismissing boyega on the fact he’s very dramatic rather than young and adventurous which the lead would need to be. What has the politics of the prequels got to do with this very simple concept? Is everyone on this site an idiot?

  • March 12, 2014 at 10:12 pm
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    ♫ Most casting announcements that someone has read for a part, or is in consideration, or is in the running. I can’t believe they are still casting. They starting casting last year. Hamill said recently he hadn’t been contacted yet, Billie Dee will be dancing with the stars when they start filming. I’m really starting to wonder what is going on. ♫

    • March 12, 2014 at 10:17 pm
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      Hamill said recently he hadn’t been contacted yet. He’s said he’s been in creative meetings with Kathleen and met with George. He’s covering his tracks with lies. Carrie has let it slip that she’s spoken to JJ and I’m sure Mark and Harrison and whoever else in the cast has spoken to him too. It’s just nobody is allowed to admit it.

    • March 12, 2014 at 10:23 pm
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      Its not uncommon to continue casting till shooting starts. Even then people can be replaced and new roles can be casted

    • March 13, 2014 at 12:28 am
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      They signed contracts not to talk about it. When Mark denied it, it was IMMEDIATELY after he finished saying that he was good at keeping secrets, and how he kept the Father twist secret from Harrison Ford! That they are taking this long, considering the re-write (which there was one, if it took them so long to finish the script), shows that they want to get it right.

  • March 12, 2014 at 11:04 pm
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    Speleers is terrible, he can’t act.

    • March 12, 2014 at 11:32 pm
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      Not a big fan of his acting and he’s a bit of pretty boy too which doesn’t really feel star warsy. To be honest I don’t think any of them look right.. apart from Matthew who actually looks pretty much perfect. Very normal, innocent, and relatable look, and very much like Mark Hamill too. Jesse Plemons and Speleers in particular look very striking which isn’t too good.

  • March 12, 2014 at 11:51 pm
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    None of the above. Garrett Hedlund for lead Jedi.

    • March 13, 2014 at 12:01 am
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      I see him as Ben Skywalker

  • March 12, 2014 at 11:55 pm
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    I have a feeling the casting department for Star Wars 7 is going to flop like the casting choices for Fantastic Four (2015)

    • March 13, 2014 at 12:31 am
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      If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t take so long. This is the first of a trilogy, with other films, toys, who knows what else riding on it. I’m more worried that all of their effort will go into the new trilogy, and every other bit of Star Wars stuff will be phoned in.

  • March 12, 2014 at 11:57 pm
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    Taylor Kitsch as Jacen Solo

    • March 13, 2014 at 2:18 pm
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      Betty White as Mara Jade, oh, wait, fake characters from lame books won’t be in the films.

    • March 13, 2014 at 4:37 pm
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      LOL … NOT!!!

  • March 13, 2014 at 12:39 am
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    Interesting how so many people are seeing the old characters being represented. Just don’t expect Anakin Solo to be in it. Several essays have been written about what happened with him.

  • March 13, 2014 at 1:23 am
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    Anyone but Jesse Plemons. Every time I see his squinty eyed picture I hear dueling banjos. He just isn’t right for a lead.

  • March 13, 2014 at 1:34 am
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    carrie fisher said that jesse plemons is just playing a stormtrooper

    • March 13, 2014 at 6:38 pm
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      ..when and where did she say this

  • March 13, 2014 at 2:01 am
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    Jessie Plemons rules so hard! Please oh please let him have a leading role in this film.

  • March 13, 2014 at 2:50 am
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    I have an idea! Lets make a movie that we have no clue how to make! Who’s in it?? Nobody! The name will sell itself!! Muhahaha!

    • March 13, 2014 at 6:10 pm
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      “It’s a show about NOTHING!”

      “Nothing?”

      “NOTHING! What’dja do this morning?”

      “I dunno, I got up, drank some blue milk, banged the hell out of my thumb trying to switch out one of the alluvial dampers on my ship…”

      “There’s a show! THAT’S a show!”

  • March 13, 2014 at 7:31 am
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    i don’t care who gets the leading role… i just know if Luke has children in this movie, its gonna ruin the Jedi ways…. why ? because Jedi dont have wives and kids… period…. if part 7 has it like that, i promise alot of SW fans will jump off whats left of the ship… please writers and director, dont ruin whats left of Star Wars…

    • March 13, 2014 at 8:25 am
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      It makes sense. But that could be why things turn bad again. Yoda warned Anakin, then Luke, about the strong feelings they have for their family (Anakin with his mother) or friends (Luke).
      It’s possible one of Luke’s children turns into the dark side because of this kind of feelings.
      Just a theory! After all, maybe we’re far away from the plot they imagined for Episode VII.

    • March 13, 2014 at 11:57 am
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      Star Wars has been broke beyond repair since May of 1999. We will always episodes 4, 5, and 6 at least. The magic of those films will be so hard reproduce that we will always be let down with future movies. No matter who is cast, or who’s kids the new trilogy follows, it cannot recreate your childhood and the experience of the original films. Episodes 7-9 will be a big hit with young audiences, but will suffer nothing but harsh judgement from older fans. It will be the prequels all over again. Sure, this time the films will be better acted, written, and directed, but they wont live up to the expectations of older Star Wars fans as the bar has been set so high.

    • March 13, 2014 at 4:15 pm
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      the whole jedi-dont-have-kids thing was introduced in the prequels as a weird and contrived way to create angst for anakin. That jedi order was gone by the originals. Luke is all that’s left of the Jedi. Makes sense for him to have a kid.

    • March 13, 2014 at 6:30 pm
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      I agree as well Luke is the future for the Jedi so he had to change the rules to suit his situation as the next generation of Jedi Sith 33

  • March 13, 2014 at 10:46 am
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    To hell with the rules, Luke needs to have a son. The three trilogies should be about three generations of the Skywalker family, so the family name needs to carry on with another son. They can do whatever they like in story; Luke shouldn’t have made the same mistake as his father, the new Jedi Order has different rules, or even that he had the child before the order was technically brought back. Either way, with ONE living Jedi in the universe, who was going to argue with Luke, who had just saved everybody?

    Saying Luke shouldn’t have a son is just foolish.

    • March 13, 2014 at 6:40 pm
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      Exactly. Are people seriously wanting the jedi to be boring monks like the prequels who can’t love or do anything exciting and perform wooden dialogue and twirl lightsabers for 20 minutes?.. Yeah no thanks. Let’s continue the adventures with a new skywalker, the son of Luke.

  • March 13, 2014 at 1:17 pm
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    I hope Kathleen and co. are not polling fans (as execs like to do). Movie making is a collaborative effort but consensus building is a bad idea when it comes to art. If they have a vision and I hope they do, try to stick to it. The fans don’t know how these actors will be used, who they will play, how much chemistry they have with the other actors or what jj can get out of them, what they will play (helmeted, alien, droid, facepainted, etc). We as a group are probably not even familiar with most of their work. I would hazard to guess many people are responding to their faces. If I were making a movie that would not strike me as helpful, perhaps confusing and disheartening.

  • March 13, 2014 at 1:52 pm
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    KK posted the article about Adam Driver on her Twitter. Now, I know it may not mean anything but I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a confirmation on his involvement in the near future. This I read on Jedinews.

  • March 13, 2014 at 2:20 pm
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    ♫ I just hope Micheal B. Jordan isn’t in Star wars. Every film I have seen him in he is terrible, and acts all gansta like. Keep him in the Fantastic 4. ♫

  • March 13, 2014 at 2:33 pm
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    Oh dear god please JJ do not listen to silly polls voted by people who have no idea who all 5 of these actors even are so it’s going to be completely bias toward the famous ones like Jesse and Speelers. Which, what a surprise, Jesse and Speelers are at top while the theatre actors are last.. But yeah I really hope this list is outdated or innacurate or ..something. None of them feel like a star wars lead at all, apart from Mathew who I can really see as the lead. He’s by far the most normal and innocent looking which is great for relateability and also for character development which is especially needed for someone changing and developing into a jedi over three films like Luke skywalker. Mathew is the only one even close to pulling that off to be honest. The others are good no doubt about it, but if this is the lead role they can’t just be good. Although I don’t actually know who Fisher is to be honest, but I don’t think he looks like a lead anyway so

  • March 13, 2014 at 4:33 pm
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    Just seen Matthew James Thomas in a youtube video being interviewed about some Broadway musical called Pippin or something, and he bears an amazing resemblance to a young Mark Hamill.

  • March 13, 2014 at 6:43 pm
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    I like John Boyega a lot.

    Could see him as the lead protagonist, with Jesse Plemmons in a supporting role as Ben Skywalker.

    Add Driver as Jacon Solo (the villain), being turned to the dark side.

    Sounds awesome; with the expectation that Fisher, Ford, Hamill, and Williams being back.

  • March 13, 2014 at 8:57 pm
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    I want Benedict Cumberbatch in the movies. Or the Fett movie. Wishful thinking I know, cos of Star Trek.

    Also, Mayhem from the allstate commercials should play Solid Snake. There all done now.

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