SPECULATION: Is Lupita Nyong’o Playing Asajj Ventress In Star Wars: Episode 7?

News has broken that Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong’o of 12 Years a Slave has been added to the cast of Star Wars Episode VII, rumored to be playing a character named “Asajj Ventress.” Great! Great! And Great! But who the Heck is Asajj Ventress?! After the jump we’ll find out.


We’ve been sitting on this article for a couple weeks now and Monday Kathleen Kennedy officially announced that Lupita Nyong’o is part of the cast for Star Wars: Episode VII:

“I could not be more excited about Lupita and Gwendoline joining the cast of Episode VII,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “It’s thrilling to see this extraordinarily talented ensemble taking shape.” 

When Disney/LFL made the official cast announcement of April 29th many Bloggers and fans used it as ammunition for their “Star Wars equals anti-diversity” rants against the company. (It’s funny that we haven’t heard the same complaints against the Marvel Cinematic Universe, for instance, which has even less diversity.) We had already heard that Nyong’o was already signed. Also, JJ Abrams quickly came out and addressed this issue by stating in his May the 4th greeting that casting was “ongoing.” Well, now that Lupita and Gwendoline have been announced, the female characters, for all of you keeping score, has been bumped-up to four. Yes, not a tremendous amount, but obviously more than in past Episodes and more than many other genre franchises — The Hobbit anyone? Also, with actresses of this caliber we know they are NOT filling minor roles. And as for that count, we have a sneaking suspicion it will be going up again as well so stay tuned for that.

star wars

So now that the “lack of diversity” issue has been addressed, lets get down to brass tacks — Is Lupita playing Ventress??? Some may recall that we posted an article a while ago that Nyong’o was rumored to be playing Asajj Ventress:

Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong’o is also in the cast. She will be playing a character called ‘Asajj Ventress’. Nyong’o was not officially announced in yesterdays report but was one of the first names to have signed up after Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford.

Some websites, such as Vulture, speculate that Lupita is actually NOT playing Asajj Ventress but the long rumored “Obi-Wan Kenobi grandchild” that circulated back in January:

There was a hot rumor last month that Nyong’o was being courted to play Asajj Ventress, a Jedi-killing villainess canonically tied to the Clone Wars that bridge Episodes II and III of the Star Wars saga. I’m inclined to believe that Nyong’o has taken on a new role, though, since director J.J. Abrams has voiced a desire to disentangle Episode VII from the morass of Star Wars spin-offs that have come before him. Still, Nyong’o may yet have ties to an original character: In January, THR reported that Abrams was searching for “a twenty-something female actress who is either of mixed race or black” to play a descendant of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Could this be Nyong’o’s role?

We have our doubts as to whether there really is an Obi-Wan descendant as I wrote about last month. Also, JJ and co were allegedly looking at Maise Richardson-Sellers who is twenty-something. Lupita is 31 and a bit too old for that part if it even exists. Then there’s the slight problem that presumably the entire cast thus far, save Sydow and maybe Driver, are playing good guys. Who else is playing the heavy? It wouldn’t hurt at all to have a female villain. And finally, add the fact that our tipster was dead-on about Nyong’o even being in Episode VII and I stand by the speculation that she is to be playing Ventress.

So who, then, is this Asajj Ventress? 

Asajj Ventress has never appeared in any Star Wars live-action movie, so many fans may not know who she is. However, the character was born as part of the concept art by Dermot Power created for Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

This artwork of a striking beauty twisted darkly was not a concept soon forgotten. Eventually Ventress made her Star Wars debut in Cartoon Network’s Clone Wars micro series where she was introduced as Count Dooku’s unofficial apprentice. As we all know the Sith don’t even follow their own rules. The so-called “Rule of Two” is pretty much meaningless.


In the Micro Series, Ventress confronted Anakin Skywalker. During their duel she was thrown off the precipice of a pyramid and was thought to have died, although she falls into the jungle’s darkness, leaving her fate very ambiguous. (Yet, it seems likely that the Micro Series may NOT be considered canon even though the second volume led directly into the opening crawl of Episode III.)

Fast forward to 2008 when The Clone Wars animated series arrived. It was kicked-off with a feature-length film released in theaters. The film featured Asajj Ventress, alive and well, and still an apprentice to Dooku. However, she had a few slight changes to her basic look as seen here:

Disney has already stated that Star Wars canon includes the six existing movies, The Clone Wars, Rebels as well as the planned Sequel Trilogy and Spinoffs. Thus The Clone Wars animated series is where Ventress truly lives . . . for now. 


Some fans have rightfully questioned how a young woman, Lupita is only 31, is supposed to span the Prequel Era, as well as the Original Trilogy era to emerge, still young, in the Sequel Trilogy. Fair enough. Outside of carbonite, this could be plausible since Asajj Ventress is a Night Sister who was imbued with magic by Mother Talzin. Also consider the fact that she is an alien from Dathomir, we don’t know how her race ages, and it becomes easily conceivable that she could have lived long enough to become embroiled with the events leading into Episode VII. Magic is a game changer!

Mother Talzin inspects the newly minted Night Sister.

Asajj Ventress spent most of TCW as Dooku’s apprentice. At a certain point, and with a slew of mounting failures under her belt, Darth Sidious ordered Count Dooku to execute her. Dooku failed in his task. Seeking a path to vengeance, Ventress returned to Dathomir where she officially became a Night Sister and was altered with Mother Talzin brand voodoo. 


Ventress then became the one who hand selected and created, again with the help of Talzin magic, the Zabrak beast better known as “Savage Opress.” She and her acolyte Opress mounted a campaign against Dooku. However, they were no match for him. Eventually, Ventress returned to her Night Sisters of Dathomir, which were soon wiped-out by a droid attack force.

This string of failure eventually led Ventress to rely solely upon herself as she became a bounty hunter. Ultimately, as of TCW Season 6, her fate is unknown. Ventress’ backstory is actually pretty extensive, moreso than another cult favorite — Boba Fett. But what of her role in Episode VII, bounty hunter or Sith? 

Bounty hunter

Surely, aside from the Rebel Alliance, there is no one more happy about the fall of the Sith than Asajj Ventress. Perhaps Ventress re-emerges to fill the void left by the Sith? Though never truly a Sith herself, it is conceivable that she could be the leader of a small cult of Dark Side practitioners, a new and improved version of the “Sith” built in her own image less the “Rule of Two?” OR perhaps she is the Sith Master to an apprentice who was betrayed by the Jedi, say, like Ahsoka Tano? After all the pair teamed-up temporarily while Tano was fighting to prove her innocence at the end of Season 5.

Then we have the famous, or infamous depending upon your point of view, rumor from Latino Review that Darth Sidious will re-appear in Episode VII as a Sith Spectre and had a secret apprentice:

[…] Palpatine had a new apprentice before he got killed.

Perhaps Asajj Ventress was this “new apprentice?” However that doesn’t make much sense since it was Sidious who ordered Dooku to kill her in the first place.

IF Asajj Ventress does appear in Episode VII, could Mother Talzin be far behind? Recently Rey Santos lost his job over the leak of this photo that appears to be a Night Sister of some sort. The Dathomir Night Sisters, practitioners of shadow magic, would give Disney a “magical enemy” archetype that has been a formula for them forever. As I said it would be a game changer and a wild card that could have untold ramifications. 
Night Sister?
At any rate, Asajj Ventress has quickly, and deservedly, become a cult favorite among Star Wars fans because her epic story is one of equal parts tragedy and failure, but constant striving. I think Ventress is very relatable because she’s strong and powerful but has often gotten the raw end of the deal. 


Personally, I think Ventress is a badass, and a female one at that, which Star Wars sorely lacks — female villains. The beauteous Lupita Nyong’o could bring great, award-winning acting and presence to the Star Wars universe while also giving whole new meaning to the phrase, “Seduced by the Dark Side.” Sure this is the very definition of “wild speculation” but there are two certainties: The first is that it seems highly unlikely that Ventress would re-emerge on the scene only to be a glorified bounty hunter, with her strong Force potential. And the second is that, where Asajj Ventress is concerned, the possibilities are endlessly exciting!

 

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177 thoughts on “SPECULATION: Is Lupita Nyong’o Playing Asajj Ventress In Star Wars: Episode 7?

  • June 5, 2014 at 2:55 pm
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    Why does everyone assume if an actor is “famous” that they are playing a big role. Just go back to the prequels to see some known actors in small roles – Bail Organa for one.

    • June 5, 2014 at 3:11 pm
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      In that instance, Bail Organa and Jimmy Smits would have been better served if his character was written in the way the pre-Prequels E.U. suggested i.e. as one of the main heroes of the Clone Wars, alongside his friends Anakin, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who having witnessed the horrors of war, announced the ‘No Weapons’ edict (at the end of all the years of conflict), for his entire planet, ushering in a new hoped-for era of Peace.

  • June 5, 2014 at 2:56 pm
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    I would be thrilled if this turns out to be true! 🙂

  • June 5, 2014 at 2:59 pm
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    I just don’t think they’re going to be pulling characters from these ancillary stories.

    • June 6, 2014 at 12:47 pm
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      The only reason for rebooting the Star Wars franchise was so that they could use any bits they wanted but write them differently. They will use the name, look and even perhaps the feel but will ignore anything that they dont like about their story.

      Anyway Asajj appears in The Clone Wars TV series which is part of the new Star Wars.

  • June 5, 2014 at 2:59 pm
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    One of the main reasons why I complained about the lack of females in Star Wars a lot more than in Marvel is because they’re creating brand new characters who aren’t beholden to the EU. They can create any number or male and female characters they want. Unsurprisingly, their initial cast release only had one brand new female in it. Disney should not be surprised people called them out for that.

    It definitely isn’t impossible to use more females in Marvel. It just feels like they mostly use the most popular ones available. Besides Black Widow, the only other ones I remember are agents.

    • June 5, 2014 at 3:00 pm
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      *of

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:59 pm
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      Key word above is “initial” cast announcement. All of those who were so critical of casting at that moment jumped the gun and got bent out of shape for no reason. Maybe you are finally realizing that?

      Abrams and company have known what they are doing from day one. They delayed announcing Lupita Nyong’o for a reason, and if this speculation bout Asajj Ventress is true, the leaked “Nightsister” photo apparently hastened that announcement. Too bad, because it would have made for a great surprise closer to the film release or even in the movie itself. (Not that it could have been kept under wraps that long, but fun to think about anyway…)

      In any event, it also wouldn’t surprise me if they felt the need to release more information than they really wanted to because of the furor about gender equality in the casting. That bickering at such a premature time has done nothing but contribute to taking some of this kind of fun (surprise announcements) out of the equation. So congratulations, your bickering has successfully minimized or eliminated what could have been…

    • June 5, 2014 at 10:51 pm
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      Oh shut up. Obviously I knew there were going to be more names released, but giving us only one new female role out of seven back in late April was a dumb move on Disney’s part.

      It was a clear reminder of Star Wars’ history of only providing a token female lead per trilogy. Disney should not have been surprised at the backlash.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:25 pm
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      Oh really? “Oh shut up”? Very mature response. My experience on this website has been that when confronted with compelling arguments, and one has little else to argue, this is the kind of lashing out that results.

      Speaking of lashing out, since it seems to be something that those of your ilk are good at, if you knew more names were going to be released, then why make a big stink at all? You obviously expected something bad, based on your own biases and experiences related to what you perceive as “Star Wars’ history of only providing a token female lead per trilogy.” I doubt very seriously that Carrie Fisher or Natalie Portman considered their contributions to only be “tokens.”

      My point in all of this has been that to assume anything (i.e. that the final casting was going to be tilted dramatically one way or another) is narrow-minded. I stand by my conclusion: The criticism about the perception of gender inequality when casting was clearly not yet complete was premature and unwarranted. You suggestion that you knew casting was incomplete only supports that position.

    • June 6, 2014 at 5:30 pm
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      *S.H.I.E.L.D.

    • July 31, 2014 at 3:04 pm
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      Mother Talzin should be in it, shooting lightning and causing mayhem whilst rebuilding the nightsisters as well as her being more powerful and more deceitful than Asajj

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:02 pm
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    I would be thrilled if this turns out to be completely and utter crap! 🙂

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:06 pm
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    “It’s funny that we haven’t heard the same complaints against the Marvel Cinematic Universe, for instance, which has even less diversity.”
    What? Terrible argument. Marvel is based on comic book characters. They have to cast to fit what those characters were in the comics. You can’t make Thor some black woman otherwise it would be stupid. Nobody complains about the anti-diversity of Marvel because there’s an excuse for it. Star Wars on the other hand hasn’t got an excuse for a lack of diversity. It’s all new. They can do anything they want.
    “Yes, not a tremendous amount, but obviously more than in past Episodes and more than many other genre franchises — The Hobbit anyone?”
    Again, the same point. The Hobbit is based off of books. Star Wars on the other hand has infinite possibilities.

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:27 pm
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      Uh, that didn’t stop DC from making Green Latern a black guy in the new cartoons. Also didn’t stop Marvel from making Nick Fury black in the Avengers movie series. It actually has been done before, so you’re argument is pointless and embarrassing.

      BTW, Green Latern in the new 52 is gay. Maybe you didn’t know anything about that, anything else about comics.

    • June 5, 2014 at 7:59 pm
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      Whats your point you want diversity even if it doesn’t fit the character?

    • June 5, 2014 at 8:04 pm
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      Green Lantern was a black man because he was a at one time a replacement green lantern, because Hal Jordan was thought to be dead. Ultimate Nick Fury is in alternate universe. The gay Lantern is on Earth 2 in an alternate universe.

    • June 5, 2014 at 9:15 pm
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      I thought Van Wilder was Green Lantern.

    • June 5, 2014 at 10:57 pm
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      The point I get from Marvel and DC on diversity is that while you certainly can change the race of a character from Caucasian to Black or whatnot and add more females overall, it’s a lot more difficult than Star Wars’ situation because they are basically restricted to their most popular characters available while Star Wars can EASILY create more female characters FROM SCRATCH for us. 100% FREEDOM.

      So, no, it’s not a pointless and embarrassing argument.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:08 pm
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      Are both of you failing to realize how old Ventress would be? Geeze, shut the fuck up. Clearly not gonna be playing Ventress.

      • December 20, 2014 at 6:07 am
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        she’s not human.

    • June 6, 2014 at 12:08 am
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      Anon at 12:08 AM: Clean it up please.

    • June 6, 2014 at 9:42 am
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      Yeah, Language like that betrays a limited vocabulary…

    • June 6, 2014 at 2:23 pm
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      Anon 11:57 – you point is true, SW can just dream up new Characters. But, so can Marvel and DC. Also, it is not 100% FREEDOM as you say because the producers have to please the grand-standers who DEMAND a certain number of male/female/black/white/native american/Latino/Oriental/purple/martians in the movie. So you have actually taken away FREEDOM by demanding something to the producers. YOU also have the FREEDOM to write your own Sci-Fi fantasy the way YOU want to, but nobody would want to see that because you’re probably a no talent hack.

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:10 pm
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    Personally, the more I look at it, I say that that this “Nightsister” picture looks somewhat like Lupita Nyong’o. Look at the facial structure of this Nightsister picture. Am I imagining this?

    • June 5, 2014 at 3:47 pm
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      The images of Ventress look nothing like the ‘Nightsister’ picture. However,
      Ventress might be the leader of a coven of Nightsisters.

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:37 pm
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      That isn’t what I said at all actually. What I said was that it looks like it could be Lupita Nyong’o in that odd color “nightsister” blurry photograph.

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:53 pm
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      True, you didn’t. However, the face is that image seems to have an oval face with sharper cheekbones that Nyong’o, but then again, if that picture is real in the first place, it may be a stand-in for the real actress.

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:10 pm
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    I don’t get why diversity is such a big issue. Does every movie these days have to be accurate regarding all of this? I think it’s stupid, I prefer an amazing movie with less diversity that fits the story than to put in diverse characters that do nothing for the story and movie and turn it into decent or bad.

    • June 5, 2014 at 3:15 pm
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      “I prefer an amazing movie with less diversity that fits the story than to put in diverse characters that do nothing for the story”
      LOL yeah having a person who isn’t a white male would just alter the movie’s story so much wouldn’t it? Oh my goodness a character isn’t like another character because they aren’t a white male! omg a diverse set of characters!? In a film!? The poor storyline how will it ever survive!!

    • June 5, 2014 at 3:25 pm
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      Whenever someone expresses dissatisfaction with the lack of females and/or minorities in Star Wars, people always come out and pretend like we want this for every movie. We don’t.

      It is no accident though that the vast majority of Hollywood’s movies are FILLED with white people, especially white men.

    • June 5, 2014 at 3:27 pm
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      “I don’t get why diversity is such a big issue.”

      Look at the recent Academy Awards. Out of 20 actors and actresses nominated for Oscars, ONLY 3 were non-White:

      Chiwetel Ejiofor — (slave) “12 Years a Slave”
      Barkhad Abdi — (Somali pirate) “Captain Phillips”
      Lupita Nyong’o — (slave) “12 Years a Slave”

      This. Speaks. Volumes. -_-

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:06 pm
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      Maybe it just means they’re not as good of actors as the ones who won…
      -a black dude

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:04 pm
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      Can we please just STOP. REPEATING. THIS. STUPID. ARGUMENT. We know how everyone feels about gender equality and diversity in Star Wars and Hollywood in general. From all appearances, JJ and the Mouse appear to be on the right track no matter which side you argue from.

    • June 5, 2014 at 8:09 pm
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      Sorry but the usa is a white majority & thats who they want to sell tickets too. Just like in Bollywood the actors are Indian not white. Seems no one there cares about diversity.

    • June 5, 2014 at 10:20 pm
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      “Sorry but the usa is a white majority & thats who they want to sell tickets too.”

      No, you’re not sorry, but that’s the least of your problems. The real issue, to borrow a bit from the Emperor, is your utter lack of vision.

      SW is a world-wide phenomenon, and *that’s* whom Disney wants to sell tickets to: every single SW fan (that’s OT, PT, and EU) in all over planet Earth.

      Since I’m not from the U.S., but I’m a diehard SW fan since ’77 nonetheless, I know this for a fact.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:01 pm
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      “Maybe it just means they’re not as good of actors as the ones who won…
      -a black dude”

      I’m not even talking about whether I thought they deserved to win or not. I’m talking about the GROSS lack of non-white representation in Hollywood, the GROSS lack of role opportunities available to non-whites because white people are so dominate in the industry.
      – another black dude

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:03 pm
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      Also, the three non-white nominees JUST SO HAPPEN to have played slaves and a Somali pirate? SMH…

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:04 pm
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      “Can we please just STOP. REPEATING. THIS. STUPID. ARGUMENT.”

      Oooooh. Terribly sorry. Didn’t mean to rock the status quo with my facts.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:12 pm
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      “omg a diverse set of characters!? In a film!? The poor storyline how will it ever survive!!”

      I guess it isn’t a fantasy if it’s too real.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:34 pm
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      “Rock the status quo with my facts” What facts?!? Facts are, casting was incomplete. Everybody screamed bloody murder. It was premature until final casting is announced. Those are the facts as they pertain to this situation, and not someone’s unwarranted fear, ancient or otherwise, that the final casting will not be fair.

      Please note, most recent suggestions are that casting is STILL not complete, so droning on about this topic is even now too early. Now, if someone comes out and says, “Here is he final cast” and it only has two females in it, then you have a valid argument. But that hasn’t, and you do not.

      BTW – I am all for a diverse and equal cast, but I do not think the furor on this subject is a productive use of anyone’s energy AT THIS POINT.

    • June 6, 2014 at 5:19 am
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      Anon @ 12:34 AM

      Dude, calm down. Relax. Breathe easy. The Internet is FILLED with emotional people like you who fly off the handle whenever somebody brings up the issue of the lack of gender and/or racial diversity in Star Wars and Hollywood movies in general. Take it easy….

      All right. You okay now? Goodness… ^_-

      The facts I was referring to was that there were only 3 non-white actors out of 20 who were nominated in this past Academy Awards. They were all black, and they so happen to have played either a slave or a Somali pirate.

      I was pointing out that this is an indication of the limiting type of roles mainstream American society values for black people. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule, but I’ve been noticing lately how black actors and certain movies they’re in get a lot of Hollywood Oscar buzz. Black people in these films are often portrayed in a negative and/or shameful light (including slavery films with positive, inspiring messages and “feel-good” white people empowerment films), such as:

      12 Years a Slave
      Captain Phillips
      The Help
      Fruitvale Station
      Beasts of the Southern Wild
      Django Unchained
      Lincoln
      Precious
      The Blind Side

      See a pattern? Anywho, I shouldn’t be surprised by now that I have to keep repeating that I already knew they were going to release the names of more actors later on. Obviously you don’t make a Star Wars movie with 13 people. However, Disney presented these 13 actors to us back in late April with the impression that this was it for the MAIN cast, the ones who drive the story.

      It wasn’t until the backlash that they even bothered to mention that they were still looking for more female roles. As much as I’ve been praiseful of Disney’s handling of Star Wars overall, they were absolutely brainless to think they could give us only one female role out of seven brand new ones and not expect people to speak out. It was another reminder of Star Wars’ history of being lopsided in favor of men.

      If I were them, I would’ve at least released an announcement alongside those 13 actors, making it crystal clear that more actresses would soon join Daisy in the main cast.

    • June 6, 2014 at 4:11 pm
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      To the contrary, I have not once “flown off the handle.” As much as these threads are littered with accusations about how all the white men are going nuts about the subject, it has been quite the opposite. My point has been simple all along. This issue has now been addressed in nearly every article since the initial cast announcement. Everyone gets it. No one is against diversity and equality (although plenty have resorted to making sarcastic comments about it because it has become such an inane topic).

      Perhaps Disney could have handled it differently. But we are doing nothing but re-hashing that which is a very moot point at this time. So, again, can we please just drop it and move on to more interesting discussions, like the one that this thread was started for, who may Lupita Nyong’o play? Instead, these topics continue to get hijacked so we have to go through this argument over and over. I’m done with it…

    • June 6, 2014 at 9:46 pm
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      To the contrary, I have not once “flown off the handle.”

      This: “What facts?!? Facts are, casting was incomplete. Everybody screamed bloody murder.”

      It shows in the tone of your response.

      I’m not sure if this other one is also yours: “Can we please just STOP. REPEATING. THIS. STUPID. ARGUMENT.”

      I see posts like this all the time on this subject. It’s one thing for people to disagree or whatnot, but I find it strange how intense and common this sort of reaction is.

      “As much as these threads are littered with accusations about how all the white men are going nuts about the subject, it has been quite the opposite.”

      I never said all white men are going nuts on this subject. Of course there are plenty of exceptions to the rule on all sides. Although race has its place in the overall discussion on the lack of diversity in Star Wars, the focus of this particular argument was on gender. I take back the “white” part only because it distracts from my intended focus.

      That said, there has been a great passionate backlash from the status quo against those who have spoken out across the Internet, expressing great dissatisfaction over the lopsided new cast favoring men from late April. I’ve seen it firsthand as I’m sure you have, too. Some of it is absolutely disgusting and shows the gross immaturity of the overall fan base.

      Guess which gender best represents this group?

      “My point has been simple all along. This issue has now been addressed in nearly every article since the initial cast announcement.”

      I’m glad it was eventually addressed. I’m also greatly pleased to discover that I wasn’t alone with my convictions. Star Wars has a long history of greatly underrepresenting women. When Disney had the audacity to release seven brand new cast members with only one of them being female, there was no way in hell we were going to remain silent. Obviously we knew more names would be released, but our frustration was on what we had seen THUS FAR. How could Disney not see this coming?

      “No one is against diversity and equality (although plenty have resorted to making sarcastic comments about it because it has become such an inane topic).”

      Yes, there are those who make light of this issue for a number of foolish reasons. But there are also those who feel threatened by the inclusion of more women in their “boys’ club”, both in number of character roles and in them having a greater place in the story.

      “Perhaps Disney could have handled it differently. But we are doing nothing but re-hashing that which is a very moot point at this time.”

      This discussion may not be that important to you, but it is to me any many others. I’ll continue to speak on the subject whenever I feel like it. No one is forcing you to participate.

      “I’m done with it…”

      Okay.

    • June 9, 2014 at 4:24 pm
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      Yay! You win for getting the last word in!

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:13 pm
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    I found the Nightsisters and Asajj story-lines in The Clone Wars were usually the better ones. I hope she is playing a Asajj, but is Asajj still a villian…? She seemed to have one foot on each side of the force.

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:04 pm
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      Agreed.
      Asajj is a great character and Lupita seems has the same physical apperence

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:08 pm
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      If my memory serves of the little bit known about GL’s treatments, the third trilogy was supposed to be more philosophical about what it means to be on the light vs. dark side and whether they really are what you think they are (Jedi = good vs. Sith = evil) or the blending of the two. From that standpoint, a middle of the road character like Asajj would fit the bill just right. Someone who is neither Jedi nor Sith and is perhaps a little bit good and a little bit bad… like most of us.

    • June 5, 2014 at 6:38 pm
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      great point

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:13 pm
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    People have built themselves into such a frenzy about Lupita playing Ventriss, that when it is revealed she is playing someone else, they’ll start denouncing the film, with bittterness and irrationality.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:09 pm
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      All the more reason why the “gender equality” outrage has perhaps ruined the production’s ability to keep some surprises for us…

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:15 pm
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      Oh boy. Here it comes. People are starting to blame us for any perceived problem in VII because we wanted to see something besides yet another white man in Star Wars. -_-

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:38 pm
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      It has nothing to do with white men. It has to do with not passing judgment before having all the facts. But please, feel free to continue to drone on with your agenda despite the fact that no one in their right mind has any objection to a diverse and equal cast.

    • June 6, 2014 at 5:33 am
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      It has a lot to do with white men. White men have DOMINATED Star Wars since day one. Minorities and women were lucky to get a token role each per trilogy.

      When the first seven brand new cast members were released, it wasn’t a surprise that the bulk of them were white men. What was a bit of a surprise for something as universally loved as Star Wars was that there was only one female named out of seven. OBVIOUSLY more roles would be added to that, but it blows my mind how people can look at what was released thus far and not see a clearly lopsided preference for men.

      It was a dumb move on Disney’s part not to foresee the backlash. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who voiced my displeasure.

    • June 6, 2014 at 4:15 pm
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      To the extent that Disney failed to foresee the irrational reaction to the initial cast announcement, I guess you’re right… Keep pushing that agenda.

    • June 6, 2014 at 9:55 pm
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      The “irrational reaction” was nothing compared to all the emotional, hate-filled misogynistic comments made across the Internet in response.

      Of course, not everyone who disagreed with the initial reaction acted like pigs, but A LOT of them did. Very telling.

    • June 6, 2014 at 11:51 pm
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      Sorry, I failed to take into consideration all of the comments made across the entire vast Internets. I only come hear for my Star Wars fix and I have never seen anyone address the topic in the fashion you suggest. So have fun continuing the “boys club” debate with yourself or anyone else you can find to engage.

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:15 pm
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    Star Wars is still sexist. We won’t rest until we get an all female cast trilogy, only then can Star Wars stop being sexist.

    • June 5, 2014 at 3:38 pm
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      No, there’d still be a male director and males on the film crew and in post production. That’s unacceptable!!!!

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:00 pm
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      ^For the record, an angry OT fanatic (anon 4:15) started the argument today.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:10 pm
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      Please, some a-hole starts the argument everyday. And it is everywhere and at all times. UGH.

    • June 5, 2014 at 8:36 pm
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      I don’t know, there are a lot of days when I can use a good excuse to facepalm.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:17 pm
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      “^For the record, an angry OT fanatic (anon 4:15) started the argument today.”

      Yes. How dare they rock the boat! Damn trolls.

    • June 6, 2014 at 5:37 am
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      “Please, some a-hole starts the argument everyday. And it is everywhere and at all times. UGH.”

      I know, right? They’re clearly a-holes for wanting more roles for actors who look more like them rather than your default white male. What bastards!

    • June 6, 2014 at 4:18 pm
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      No, they are a-holes for bringing this subject up in every single article that is posted. We have hashed it out and re-hashed it out ad nauseum. I’ll say it again and again: No one in their right mind is opposed to having diversity and equality in the cast. It has nothing to do with “default white males.” But keep pushing that agenda…

    • June 6, 2014 at 10:19 pm
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      “No, they are a-holes for bringing this subject up in every single article that is posted.”

      Clearly you’re functioning from emotion rather than logic here because this discussion has not come up in every single article that has been posted recently. Yes, it was a particularly huge topic of discussion back in late April – much of May, but the only few articles of late I’ve seen it brought up again have to do with actresses like Lupita and the possible roles they’ll likely play.

      Do you see this topic coming up in the article featuring Mark Hamill holding a lightsaber and posing with Mickey Mouse or the one with the Vader Hot Wheels car? I certainly haven’t. So there’s no need to get all emotional and act like it’s everywhere because it’s not.

      “I’ll say it again and again: No one in their right mind is opposed to having diversity and equality in the cast.”

      Then there are plenty of people on the Internet who aren’t in their right minds. A good number of them are Star Wars fans who pretty much want it to remain a boys’ club. I’ve seen it myself.

      “It has nothing to do with “default white males.” But keep pushing that agenda…”

      Mainstream America is used to seeing white males dominate in Star Wars and other Hollywood blockbusters, especially in lead roles. Women and minorities generally get token support roles. That’s no accident.

      When people went on the Internet to express how they wanted greater representation in VII, the backlash was strong and hateful. One of the main reasons was because it was challenging the status quo of women’s roles in the Star Wars galaxy.

      It wasn’t simply those who told me to wait for the rest of the cast release. There were plenty of people who flat out told me that Star Wars was for boys and having more than one strong female in it was unrealistic.

    • June 6, 2014 at 11:49 pm
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      I have not seen your “boys club” references on this website. But you apparently can’t drop the subject, so I shall leave you to wallow in your own misery. Best of luck in your quest. I hope you find whatever it is that you keep looking for…

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:18 pm
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    I doubt you sat on the news for weeks. If you knew Nyong’o was cast, you’d have broken the story. So that’s just rubbish. Which makes me question whether you have a source at all. And the answer I have reached is no.

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:19 pm
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    I’m just laughing so hard. Simon Kinberg, Michael Arndt, JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, and Kathleen Kennedy are probably all reading these rumours and thinking “who the fuck is Asaj Ventress?”. Even George Lucas is probably reading these rumours and going “oh wow even I’m not that stupid.”

    • June 5, 2014 at 3:59 pm
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      Some actors were born to play a certain role: Arnie/The Terminator; Christopher Reeve/Clark Kent-Superman; Humphrey Bogart/Rick Blaine; Vivien Leigh/Scarlet O’Hara; Daniel Day-Lewis/Hawkeye-The Last Of The Mohicans; Harrison Ford/Han Solo, et al.
      And Lupita Nyong’o/Asajj Ventress.

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:18 pm
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      Not at all. I mean for one thing Lupita is black and Asajj is white. To say Lupita was born to play Asajj is comical. In fact, Gwendoline would be a much better Asajj if anything. I just think the whole thing is so comical. If Lupita didn’t have a short buzz cut and had long hair, nobody would think twice about her being Asajj.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:06 pm
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      She physically resembles Ventress and character wise would be a perfect fit. As for you being so concerned about her ‘blackness’, that’s comical.
      Ventress is a fantasy character unknown to the world at large and even in the tv series, novels whatever, her colour is irrelevant.
      Anyway, there’s a precedent – Johnny Storm.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:59 pm
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      Ventress is more grey then white, sorry to burst your bubbles

    • June 5, 2014 at 6:02 pm
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      “Ventress is a fantasy character unknown to the world at large and even in the tv series, novels whatever, her colour is irrelevant.”
      So it’s ok because the character is a fantasy character.. and are you actually suggesting that when she is in episode vii and we see her painted white, it won’t matter because some people haven’t heard of the character before? wtf are you talking about seriously

    • June 5, 2014 at 6:03 pm
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      “Ventress is more grey then white, sorry to burst your bubbles”
      …oh so that settles it then.. omfg

    • June 5, 2014 at 7:17 pm
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      My same exact concerns about this Lupita/Ventress nonsense that is shrouding the bland idiocy that is the Star Wars Fan Base. Thank God that none of these fanboys are in charge of coordinating the story nor the production of ANY Star Wars film.

    • June 5, 2014 at 8:02 pm
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      “We see her painted white!” wtf are you on about, seriously?
      The vast majority of people who go to see SW7 won’t have a clue who Ventress is, if she is in it anyway. So if she looks like Jabba The Hutt, it’ll make no difference to them,

    • June 6, 2014 at 2:52 am
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      But since the Clone Wars are now declared canon, doesn’t the physical appearance of the character matter just as much as which actor is playing the character. Painting N’Yongo’s face white will merely ascend controversy instead of profit.

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:19 pm
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    It’ll never happen. She will be a new character that none of us know.

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:23 pm
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    Yeah they brought on board the most sought after actress in Hollywood right now, after winning an academy award, because they think she would fit some character from a cartoon spinoff show instead of utilizing her brilliance in creating a brand new character. ..yeah.. okay..

    • June 5, 2014 at 3:52 pm
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      Academy award is more about politics and political statements then true acting talent and have been for decades.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:11 pm
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      Plus, she was (according to rumor) cast well before winning the Oscar.

    • June 5, 2014 at 10:30 pm
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      “Academy award is more about politics and political statements then true acting talent and have been for decades.”

      True that, for the casual, ordinary movie-goer that is. To actors, winning an Academy Award translates to meatier, and more importantly much better paid roles.

      In that sense, the OP is absolutely correct: portraying a character that wasn’t even in the prequels is not the role a recent Oscar-winning actor would be looking for.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:42 pm
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      How can you know that if you do not know the plot? Perhaps Asajj Ventress is actually the most important character to the entire ST. She is apparently neither Jedi nor Sith, maybe good, maybe bad… and fits well within what GL said the ST would be about: the more philosophical questions about the Force, light vs. dark.

    • June 6, 2014 at 2:56 am
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      “Perhaps Asajj Ventress is actually the most important character to the entire ST.”

      lol, and how can you know *this*, if you don’t know the plot?

      Besides, Assajj Ventress, the most important character in the ST?

      Just because a few SW fans like her, doesn’t mean the character’s good enough to be the protagonist of one of those spin-off films, let alone the ST.

    • June 6, 2014 at 4:21 pm
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      I never said she was or that I knew it for a fact… No one knows, but it is certainly possible as to why an actress like Lupita Nyong’o would be cast, if in fact that is her character. Remember, this is all just fans speculating…

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:24 pm
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    I remember that ventress developed some sort of weird relationship with ashoka towards the end of tcw. Could Lupita be Ventress and Gwendoline the adult version of ashoka???

    • June 5, 2014 at 7:07 pm
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      That must be it! Genius!

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:24 pm
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    The idea is crap and the pic of the “Nightsister” is 100% from Blade 2.

    • June 6, 2014 at 5:41 am
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      Why hasn’t anyone mentioned that movie?

    • June 6, 2014 at 5:41 am
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      *else

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:13 pm
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      That kid is dead thanks to Anakin.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:56 pm
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      Yup anyone who was at the Jedi Temple is dead.

    • June 5, 2014 at 6:00 pm
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      Who cares it’s obviously going to be played by Lupita it’s so obvious

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:30 pm
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    IMO, as I already said in another comment, it’s unlikely for a character like Ventress to be brought on the big screen, especially now, because of the general will everyone involved in the project has expressed to do something more like the OT. Also, they got plenty of characters from the past movies (big 3, chewie, 3PO and R2), isn’t it logical to think that they’re coming up with NEW ideas, for NEW characters and so on?
    That being said, it’d be awesome to see Ventress in live-action (if they do a nice visual transposition faithful to the animated character’s look).
    For all of you “die-hard fans” who think everything other than the OT is pure crap, I’d like to say that even if I liked TCW (especially the last season, which I think is really worth watching) I have no problems to recognise the numerous flaws in the show, but I think Ventress is undeniably a really fascinating and well-made character and it would be great to see her in a movie.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:15 pm
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      In the real world chronology of the saga, Ventress IS a relatively NEW character, who is canon. So it is not at all outside the possibility that this is Lupita’s role.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:41 pm
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      Although, I could see her as Ahsoka Tano, too.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:50 pm
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      *First Anon, June 5, 2014 at 4:30 PM*

      What I meant is that they already have a lot of pre-existing characters in EPVII, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense to add more existing characters instead of creating new ones.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:58 pm
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      Disney wants money…So Ventress and Ahsoka are being in it!

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:30 pm
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    She could be playing a role of assajj’ offspring..

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:35 pm
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    I don’t know…. I liked how she became a “good” person and helped Ashoka on her trial. I prefer another character.

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:41 pm
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    Disney is trying to distance itself as far as it can from the prequel era and promote the ST era and the old feel of star wars.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:55 pm
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      Then why do they use Darth maul and Ventress at the Disney shows?

    • June 5, 2014 at 8:32 pm
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      I think he meant that they are trying to make the “look and feel” of the ST more like the OT. Disney, as a whole, won’t distance itself from anything that can make money though.

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:42 pm
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    I agree that Ventress’ episodes tended to be some of the better ones in TCW, and Lupita sure would look great as Ventress.

    I’m wondering, though, how much they’re going to want to draw from TCW. After all, this is stuff that happened half a century or more before the events of Ep. VII, and as others have pointed out, it would be a bit awkward to have 70-80 year-old characters running around still looking young and buff (it’s easy enough to write that off with non-humans like Chewie and Yoda, but when you’re talking about a human-looking character… that’s gonna be tricky.)

    Perhaps even more than that, though, I worry that if they’re going to pick back up with a plot thread like that of the Night Sisters in Episode VII, they could easily end up getting bogged down in exposition about it. After all, though TCW may be SW canon, they have to make Episode VII accessible enough for people who haven’t seen the TCW series. Nobody wants a Star Wars movie with footnotes, after all. ;^)

    IF they use Ventress, they’re going to have to make her age believable, and they’re also going to have to keep the TCW backstory exposition to a bare minimum. It could work, but I’m still not 100% convinced that Ventress and the Night Sisters are going to be in Episode VII to begin with.

  • June 5, 2014 at 3:55 pm
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    If they use Ventress they will alienate their target demographic. If this is true, the sequels will feel even more non-canon and uninspired than the prequels. Stupid boring shit charactee with useless.

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:01 pm
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      ^”with useless..” what? Finish your stupid boring shit sentence.

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:14 pm
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      Those darn charactees …

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:14 pm
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      “Finish your stupid boring shit sentence.”
      this is my new favourite internet insult of all time

  • June 5, 2014 at 4:04 pm
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    If she is introduced as Asajj Ventress, albeit in a minor role, in SW7, it opens the way for a spin-off movie about Ventress to be made.

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:07 pm
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      I should emphasise ‘as a older Asajj Ventress in SW7 and a younger version (Lupita herself) in a spin-off movie.

  • June 5, 2014 at 4:26 pm
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    So much complaining goes on with the fan base that I know it will be impossible for them to please all of you. I mean let’s remember this is art for entertainment. Let the creators do what they want. Remember George wrote this outline and has told everyone working on VII they can call for his advice on characters. I mean honestly I would rather have them stick to what has been written originally then try to be diverse just for the sake of being diverse. Hiring people just for them not being a white male is reverse discrimination. Honestly I believe and trust they’ll hire the best cast possible. We should all just be patient and not interfere by saying they aren’t diverse and other criticism until we actually see the film okay? Because playing the diverse card this early in the game is just annoying.

  • June 5, 2014 at 4:33 pm
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    She is playing Ahsoka Tano. And someone else is playing Ventress, more than likely. Remember that the Clone series is canon. They left off with Ahsoka and Ventress, hanging out together like two Sith.

    Ahsoka is Anakin’s apprentice, so she ties the whole thing together. Plus, she and ventress survived order 66.

    • June 5, 2014 at 4:38 pm
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      If you look closely at her, she looks just like Ahsoka: lips, eyes, body shape . . . the whole shabob. Plus, she has short hair, so she will not mind putting that Ahsoka plastic headdress on 🙂

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:41 pm
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      I could see that, too.

  • June 5, 2014 at 4:36 pm
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    Do not want.

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:34 pm
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      Please proofread before you post.

    • June 5, 2014 at 6:32 pm
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      And refrain from procreation.

  • June 5, 2014 at 4:50 pm
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    wacht this

    http://static2.hypable.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/guardians-of-the-galaxy-karen-gillan-nebula-HD.jpg

    https://s2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/ZpA04grvvSFzyoeDMUmlBg–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MzQwO2NyPTE7Y3c9NjMwO2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0zNDA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/es_ES/News/Cineyahoo54/cine_20140324_4.jpg

    http://www.blastr.com/sites/blastr/files/styles/blog_post_media/public/karen-gillan-nebula-img.jpg?itok=yUULiLiX

    https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=face+factions&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=zJ2QU4SgHIyPqAa97IGQCA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1310&bih=666#q=karen+gillan+nebula&tbm=isch&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=poY803VZ8s4cwM%253A%3BwfHcsLH7rtwDZM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fd1mxyp5ceukbya.cloudfront.net%252Fimages%252Fkaren-gillan-bald-guardians-of-the-galaxy-avengers-gi.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.zap2it.com%252Fblogs%252Fkaren_gillan_shaved_head_why_guardians_of_the_galaxy_made_her_go_bald-2013-07%3B315%3B347

    see?????????????????

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:20 pm
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      So if a white girl can be painted blue and look good, a black girl can be painted white and look good?!?

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:52 pm
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      Ventress is more grey then white.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:45 pm
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      Either way…

  • June 5, 2014 at 5:01 pm
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    Talzin insisted Asajj had a larger destiny that she would one day find. Christie could play Talzin, who was depicted as pretty darn tall. She has played a similar role to a force ghost since the slaughter on Dathomir, appearing in a green mist to offer guidance to Ventress and Oppress. She could certainly qualify as an ancient fear.

  • June 5, 2014 at 5:05 pm
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    OMG!!! I i realised something !!

    Daisy Ridley is going to be Asajj Ventress

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:08 pm
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      Go back to sleep!

    • June 5, 2014 at 5:44 pm
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      No really!! omg!!

  • June 5, 2014 at 5:36 pm
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    …another great article Echo!…REALLY hope Lupita will be playing Ventress – just imagine the epic possiblities for this character,plus the Night Sisters/Talzin – just could be fantastic beyond belief if it was done right.

    • June 5, 2014 at 6:10 pm
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      Too young.

  • June 5, 2014 at 5:47 pm
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    Asajj Ventress???

    Good God, that would be a really stupid idea.

    • June 5, 2014 at 7:11 pm
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      This. Thank you.

  • June 5, 2014 at 5:51 pm
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    Gawd no Obi-wan decent for crying out loud………..They only time Obi-wan had any love connection was with that queen in the clone wars, and she was Caucasian.The 20 years on tattoonie watching after luke he wouldn’t care about sex, he was a hermit!

    She should be Ventress shes’s got the look.

    1.Obi-wan decent = NO
    2.Ventress a real possibility
    3.A different role? But what.

  • June 5, 2014 at 6:02 pm
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    I think Lupita and Gwendoline where casted months ago. Just like they where filming months ago in Abu-dubi or whatever its called.

    • June 5, 2014 at 8:51 pm
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      dubi dubi do, what were the chances they were cast(ed) many months ago?
      None!
      Nyong’o’s character was probably tacked on to the SW7 script to allow for a spin-off movie version.
      Christie might have won out late over male rivals for a military role.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:59 pm
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      I thought I read that Lupita was one of the first ones cast, but just not announced? Either way, anything is possible.

  • June 5, 2014 at 6:04 pm
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    Actually from the look at that one concept art picture, Gwendoline fits that picture more as Ventress????

  • June 5, 2014 at 6:07 pm
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    stupid idea is cast Lupita as ventress
    that is a waste of talent and beauty, more if you paint her face >o/

    • June 5, 2014 at 6:09 pm
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      she is going to be luke´s adopted daughter

    • June 5, 2014 at 6:18 pm
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      another thing Ventress is a character without human warmth or emotion

      and lupita…….is very emotional actress

    • June 5, 2014 at 6:34 pm
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      I think I am going to cry. I’m very emotional after all.

    • June 5, 2014 at 7:23 pm
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      Have you even watched the clone wars? Ventress is very emotional.

  • June 5, 2014 at 7:08 pm
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    Ventress would be 60 years older in episode 7.

    • June 5, 2014 at 7:21 pm
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      Ventress race could age like wookies and yoda’s race does.

    • June 5, 2014 at 10:15 pm
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      Maybe Ventress will be 60 in SW7 and have a minor part that will introduce her to moviegoers, but will be Lupita’s age in a spin-off movie. Maybe that’s what Nyong’o was signed on for – the spin-off movie of Asajj Ventress set 30 years before EpisodeV11.

  • June 5, 2014 at 7:10 pm
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    Why would anyone create a movie role for Ventress? She’s a somewhat interesting character from a cartoon. 50 years have gone by since her story making her – what – 80-90 years old. Who cares!??!

    We may get some har-har tongue-in-cheek nods to some of the prequel stuff from JJ and crew – but I am guessing – and hoping – that this is a very original story with some descendants of characters in the mix and a completely original storyline.

  • June 5, 2014 at 7:47 pm
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    I hope she isn’t. Create new characters PLEASE!

  • June 5, 2014 at 8:19 pm
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    I guess everyone from the Clone Wars is alive now that they are canon & there’s no imagination left in the world to create something new!

  • June 5, 2014 at 8:31 pm
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    The Truth is in the middle, as Romans said.
    I think Lupita could play as a Night Sister accolite or maybe leader, but not as Ventress. Nobody of the medium audience knows who she is.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:50 pm
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      So you want new characters instead of Ventress because nobody knows who she is? Interesting.

  • June 5, 2014 at 8:37 pm
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    There is a ton of narrow minded comments on here. If the working title is truly The Ancient Fear then we would be talking about a storyline that stems from events hundreds if not thousands of years before the OT. Asajj Ventress would not fit with this storyline. A movie that simply expands on previous characters will offer little excitement to the general fan. Especially with the ST taking on it’s own persona. I would expect only very minor tie ins from the PT and OT for continuity.

    With everyone clinging to TCW and the PT I am sure that Episode VII is going to surprise a lot of people with a fresh take.

    • June 5, 2014 at 9:59 pm
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      It’s not narrow minded to think of possibilities based on what we know. It would be narrow minded to say that that is what they must be doing. Speculating about possibilities is just that, speculation. One cannot speculate without a starting point. It would be silly to speculate wildly and make up things we know nothing about. Certainly, they could dump all this stuff and do something new and unexpected. Noone is saying they can’t, but in that case it’s impossible to guess as to what it would be. People like to speculate, that doesn’t make them narrow minded unless they are like that guy who is so certain the ST will be about Plageius and how Anakin want the real chosen one. He could be right even, but the narrow mindedness is from the certainty, not the guess.

  • June 5, 2014 at 10:04 pm
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    Would you rather people say, “I think Nyong’o will play Saszh Jessamir, a lonely swamp scavenger from Rangobah. She will find a lightsaber and a holocron in an abandoned Sith Temple (the Ancient Fear). She finds that she is naturally skilled with a lightsaber and goes to find Luke for training, but discovers that the holocron drains the Force from anyone near it. When it has enough, it makes a black hole that the New Republic must find a way to stop!” Sure, it’s broad minded, and baseless and random and pointless.

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:48 pm
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      I’ll be honest, I really liked that part about a Sith holocron representing the ancient fear. The black hole, not so much.

  • June 5, 2014 at 11:06 pm
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    It takes place 30+ years after ROTJ… she would be so old. Why are people failing to realize that? Obviously not gonna be playing that character. #Stupid

    • June 5, 2014 at 11:19 pm
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      That’s the thing that bothers me, too. Otherwise, I would be cool with it.

      We’re just seeing things with a very limited vision. JJ and company, of course, can pull any beautiful character out their ass. Must be nice. 🙂

    • June 6, 2014 at 2:17 am
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      She also isn’t human and has magical space powers, so her age isn’t really a big barrier.

    • June 7, 2014 at 11:48 pm
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      “When 900 years old you reach, look as good you’ll not.” Age doesn’t matter if Ventress isn’t human. Why do you fail to realize THAT?

  • June 5, 2014 at 11:28 pm
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    What I believe is that the new star wars movie will be the same as the others – with all new stories and new characters and full of SURPRISES. They want the audience to be surprised, they will create new characters with new names. It´s always been this way…and it makes sense. I don´t want to see Ventres, Night Sisters (where they have been for 60 years, hello?)…..could be a new menace, a new group of bad guys, Lupita could be a bad guy, with a lightsaber, but different name…please I want to be surprised, I want something NEW!!!!!!

    • June 6, 2014 at 2:19 am
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      I agree that they will likely do something surprising, but its not fun to have a conversation that goes, “I hope they do something surprising.” “Me too.” “Okay, what do you think it will be?” “I don’t know, something surprising.” “Okay, I guess we’re done talking.” People are speculating for fun. There’s nothing wrong with that. It is interesting to consider how things might tie neatly up. Also, Nightsisters WOULD be new and surprising to most of the audience. And different from the Sith everyone knows about. TCW also covers where they’ve been. They were wiped out during the Clone Wars. Would take a while to rebuild.

    • June 6, 2014 at 2:20 am
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      Disclaimer: I’m not saying they SHOULD do that, either, just that its possible and not awful.

    • June 6, 2014 at 7:00 pm
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      Star Wars 7 will be surprising but it will be because there will be nothing surprising about it, and that is what will be surprising to everyone!
      And I wouldn’t be at all surprised right now, if nobody believes they will be surprised for the wrong reasons when it comes out.

    • June 15, 2014 at 5:14 am
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      Those who haven’t seen The Clone Wars series will consider Asajj Ventress to be a new character to the films and would fit the part of a new character for them. Those of us who seen The Clone Wars series will know that she isn’t a new character to the films and those of us who like her character will be thrilled to see her in a film.
      It’s pretty much a win-win for Disney on both sides.

  • June 5, 2014 at 11:34 pm
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    For the whole diversity isuue – I´d like to ask black americans, if they read this – suppose you´ve never been in Africa, you born in the USA, your parents, grandparents born in the USA. How do you think about you? As a black American or as an AFRICAN American? Because the whole African American thing I don´t understand. Whay the black Americans are not just called that – Black Americans? Changing black for african makes any difference? Besides it´s often a lie – makes you feel less black? I´m european so I don´t understand…and since I understand there´s a lot of racism in the USA (mostly black hating the white) I want to say I´m not a racist, I love Denzel Washington and Samuel Jackson. And junst because I have this question doesn´t mean I have anything about black people. Thanks for answering and please without hate.

    • June 6, 2014 at 2:25 am
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      I read a really good article recently about how words change. There’s an insulting term and a polite term. But these change over time, because people use the polite term in an insulting fashion, so it takes on insulting connotations. Once that happens, people make up a new polite word. Coloured was originally a polite word, then it changed to Negro, then Black. People started to use African American because Black started to carry negative connotations, but then it didn’t really catch on, and Black stopped seeming as negative, so that means it will probably stick around for a while.

      Words mean whatever society decides they mean. Don’t get too caught up on literal definitions of the words, because that’s not how language works. Just use the word that everyone understands means what you want to say. For now, Black and African American mean mostly the same thing. Some people, like African Immigrants, might disagree, and that’s okay, too. Different groups can have different definitions. Language is complex.

  • June 6, 2014 at 12:16 am
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    Bring on the new Mara Jade article so we can complain that there still wouldn’t be enough _________ characters in Star Wars!!! It is so much fun, let’s do it on every article!!!

  • June 6, 2014 at 3:48 am
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    I actually really want Sidious to be involved some how in regards to the new baddies.. I appreciate that JJ is trying to create something new but I also think that sidious really is what star wars is all about.. (only referring to the movies not the EU). Eps 1-3 story is all because of sidious and Eps 4-6 is also because of sidious.. It would seem strange to me that in Eps 7-9 theres just these completely new bad characters that have nothing to do with anything. One would think that watching Eps 1-9 should be a complete single long story, I would find it weird if Eps 7-9 just spun off into this complete new direction and had nothing to do with Sidious’s doing in Eps 1-6… just my personal opinion. We forget that with all the knowledge of the EU the story is much more broader and has many random characters including baddies that come and go but when referring to the live action movies solely.. the average viewer would be expecting more sidious! or at least sidious’s plans furthering…

  • June 6, 2014 at 3:52 am
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    She never should have won an oscar and 12 years a slave never should have won an oscar. Biasism to the core.

  • June 6, 2014 at 9:52 am
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    I see no reason why Ventress couldn’t be in VII. She could show up in rebels in bounty hunter mode and have some sort of connection with Jabba. She may betray jabba and end up frozen in carbonite and we all know jabba’s fondness for carbonite displays.

    If we end up back on tatooine her frozen body could be discovered by someone and released.

    It’s conceivable especially as they want to try and have links between the various canon, TCW, Rebels, PT, OT and ST.

  • June 6, 2014 at 12:08 pm
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    Can people stop talking about the whole age issue with Ventress… She’s an alien not a human. Pretty stupid to be applying human years to her.. Look at chewy! By all your theories, he should be old and grey with a wailing stick. An alien can be 150 years old and still look like a human 2 year old.. So move on from the age issue, it doesn’t apply..

    • June 6, 2014 at 7:06 pm
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      Yeah but Chewy is a walking carpet! I’ve been to a Stately Home and they had a carpet that was over 300 years old and claimed it looked as new as the day it was laid.

    • June 6, 2014 at 9:17 pm
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      Are you suggesting Chewie get laid so that he still looks new?!?

    • June 7, 2014 at 4:37 pm
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      Anon 10.17 – Are you kidding?
      How do you think he remains so youthful looking (he doesn’t look a day over 200) and vibrant.
      Whatever Chewbacca does be growling about, it’s definitely not his love life!

    • June 9, 2014 at 4:19 pm
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      Well, we know his falling out with Han was over an affair with Leia, so you do have a point…

  • August 3, 2014 at 12:32 pm
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    Gwendoline Christie (1,91 m) is more likely to play Asajj Ventress (1,8 m) — Lupita Nyong’o (1,65 m)…

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