UPDATE! Ben Mendelsohn On His Involvement with Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One

Ben MendelsohnWhile Ben Mendelsohn has been described as one of the key actors sighted for Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One, he continues to claim that he has not yet been approached to take part in the film in a mid-April interview promoting his latest film, Slow West. Nonetheless, he continues to assert that he is most definitely a fan of the series, and that he would be interested in a role if it were offered to him.

 

 

From Comic Book Resources:

 

Spinoff Online: Now, I’m sure you’re getting asked about this left and right, but you’re rumored for Star Wars: Rogue One.

 

Ben Mendelsohn: What’s it called?

 

SO: Star Wars: Rogue One.

 

Mendelsohn: Rogue? R-O-G-U-E one?

 

SO: Yeah, “one” as in the number.

 

Mendelsohn: But “rogue” as in a rogue element?

 

SO: I guess?

 

Mendelsohn: I’m just unsure as to all of that stuff, but yes. I’ve heard of these rumors. What delightful rumors they are. I’d be pretty happy if that rumor came to fruition but I can in truth say there is no definitiveness to that rumor. No definitiveness.

 

 

Rogue One

 

SO: Was Star Wars something you grew up with?

 

Mendelsohn: Yup! Loved it. Loved that.

 

SO: You know George Lucas is here, at this festival, right now?

 

Mendelsohn: Really?

 

SO: Yeah, he’s doing a talk today. Actually, it’s going on right now.

 

Mendelsohn: Oh, my God. I’m having a big — that got me like a little nerd, like my film nerd, like — yeah, Star Wars is a big deal to me. It was a really big deal for me.

 

 

TFA

 

SO: Have you seen the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens? It just came out yesterday.

 

Mendelsohn: No, but I’ve heard that it’s [incredible] … But I’ve got to tell you the people who told me about it were having fanboy meltdowns, like wanted to cry. But I’m pretty excited about, I’m a fan.

 

SO: And of course because of the casting niche you tend to dominate, people assume you’re going to be a bad guy in Rogue One. Do you have any thoughts on that?

 

Mendelsohn: As I’ve said, I can tell you in all honesty, I’ve not read any scripts. I’ve been offered nothing. So, they are thrilling rumors and few will be happier than me if they come to pass.

 

 

It’s entirely possible that he could simply be denying his involvement due to the embargo that Paramount has on Rogue One over the similarly-titled Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Since Disney or Lucasfilm can’t officially promote the film until after July 31, 2015, it can be presumed that the hush-hush on this film also extends to anyone who may be involved. Even still, rumors about Rogue One are bound to leak out between now and then – and we at Star Wars 7 News will have you covered on that front and several others.

 

 

 

Rogue One

 

UPDATE!

 

In another interview again taken month ago, Mendelsohn revealed that there was some “chatter” after all:

 

 

From Huffington Post:

 

Huffington Post: I bet. And now there’s those “Star Wars” rumors …

 

Ben Mendelsohn: Yeah, there are those rumors.

 

HP: So, are they just rumors?

 
BM: They — I can definitively and honestly say to you that I have no job yet that I know of to go to. That may change. I would be very happy if that came to pass, but at this stage it’s just chatter.

 

HP: Ideally, if you were in it, what character would you want to play?

 
BM: It would depend. I think that the Empire has such room. We only know of a few people on the Empire side of the fence. “Star Wars” is populated by so many great types, who wouldn’t want to be a Han Solo kind of dude? And then you’ve got the whole Luke strain. I don’t think that they’re likely to — I’d be thrilled, actually, if they were looking at me for a Skywalkery-type of a number. But yeah, there’s a lot.

 

 

Well, one thing is certain – with all the secrecy surrounding the new Star Wars movies, we can’t blame the actors for being extremely cautious when speaking about their involvement. So far it appears that Mendelsohn had some chatter with Lucasfilm, but nothing concrete has been offered. We really hope he gets the part, whatever it is.

 

+ posts

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

33 thoughts on “UPDATE! Ben Mendelsohn On His Involvement with Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One

  • May 16, 2015 at 12:44 am
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    Why no celebrity has two minutes of free time to watch a freaking trailer? this isnot the first one I’ve seen saying that.

    • May 16, 2015 at 12:49 am
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      This interview took place the day after the trailer was released, going off of what was mentioned in the conversation, and was only posted recenty.

      • May 16, 2015 at 4:35 am
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        Only yesterday??? That’s no excuse–this is Star Wars people!!!

    • May 16, 2015 at 4:59 am
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      some people have this thing called a life

      in mine most of my friends dont give two shits about trailers.. nor for hearing about a movie sometimes years before its out.

      • May 16, 2015 at 5:29 am
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        You don’t need to have a life not to watch trailers. However, actors like Ben are just busy with other things.

      • May 16, 2015 at 1:21 pm
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        Sounds like living under a rock to me.

      • May 18, 2015 at 6:37 am
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        We landed on the moon!

  • May 16, 2015 at 12:49 am
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    This was back in April. “It came out yesterday”. The trailer that is.

  • May 16, 2015 at 5:48 am
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    Lol “big fan” and he had no idea that george lucas was having a talk on the same event he was and he didnt even see the trailer

    • May 16, 2015 at 7:47 am
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      It was the frighin day after the trailer was released and the guy is no doubt very busy, you couldnt imagine what hes up to and yes not be aware of everyone at an event. Lighten up on him, doesnt mean he doesnt love star wars. Guy leads totally different life than we internet geeks

  • May 16, 2015 at 11:18 am
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    If you are a fan as much as he’s reckoning on and you somehow missed the trailer coming out, fair enough, it as only the day before. But then once you’d found out it cae out yesterday, you’d watch it immediately.
    “ooh he’s busy” noone is too busy to take 2 minutes for something they care about. I’m guessing this man has a similar biological makeup to the rest of the human race and has to go to the toilet. Watch it then. Dear lord.

  • May 16, 2015 at 1:07 pm
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    I can really see this guy as a young Peter Cushing with the right hair and makeup.

    • May 16, 2015 at 9:43 pm
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      Why they don’t use that Tron-style for make younger Tarkin?

    • May 17, 2015 at 11:09 pm
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      If Tarkin appeared in this film it wouldn’t be a young Tarkin. It would be Tarkin from A New Hope minus only a few days or months. The Ep. 4 crawl says that the rebels had just stolen the plans. implying that it had not happened long before the movie begins. With the new film revolving around stealing those plans, the time frame is pretty small.

  • May 16, 2015 at 8:55 pm
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    Yea I agree

  • May 16, 2015 at 10:27 pm
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    Tarkin in this movie is younger than him in ANH by 2 or 3 years ?
    He is not young as glimpsed in ROTS.

    • May 18, 2015 at 5:28 am
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      More like days or weeks.

  • May 17, 2015 at 7:29 am
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    The only real question is: Will Darth Vader have the widow’s peak on his helmet back and the under cape tucked in when we see him as they so rightfully did in Rebels? Is there any doubt he’s going to be all over this movie?

  • May 17, 2015 at 10:06 am
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    Totally OT, but can someone explain the Sith thing?

    1 master and 1 apprentice. The latter is waiting to be more powerful and then take over as master by killing the former? Right? But why in God’s name would the master want to be kliled by his student?

    • May 17, 2015 at 5:07 pm
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      IKR? – the whole thing’s stupid.

    • May 18, 2015 at 6:51 am
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      1: It is stupid

      2: So what?

      3: I think it’s entirely in the realm of possibility that a Sith Lord would actually be cool with having their apprentice betray them – if it meant furthering their war against the Jedi.

      Remember we are dealing with fanatics here, I think that there are two strains;
      the Fanatic for the Cause that actually WANTS to be succeeded by one that is more powerful than themself at the cost of their own life.
      the second strain is the Power Seeker, which just legitimately wishes to personally rule the world forever.

      I think the default, ideal “Sith” should aim for the “selfless” destroy the world at all costs, thus saying “killing me only means I win, because now YOU’RE Evil, thus my goal of destroying the Jedi is achieved” makes sense in this line of thinking.
      Interestingly Palpatine is a Selfish Power Seeker, as he actually values his own life above all others, he bluffs and pretends to be the “go on, kill me” type, but actually he has ZERO intention of actually letting anyone kill him, he wants to be the big man, FOREVER.

      Darth Vader is actually more like the selfless type, he actually has a devotion to the Sith Cause with NO desire for Personal Gain.

      So in a way, Darth Vader is a more devout Sith than Palpatine ever was, because Lord Vader actually believes what he’s saying,
      What happens when Darth Vader is finally convinced that he is on the wrong side, he goes all in and destroys the one person who he valued and worked to protect: Palpatine.

      And to anyone who says: “no, Vader wanted to kill Sidious all along, he trained Starkiller” I say unto you:

      Starkiller is the single most damaging thing to the Star Wars Mythos EVER created, for exactly the reason that it undercuts the ONE THING that DID make sense about the Ep. VI Ending Duel: Killing Palpatine was a direct violation of EVERYTHING IMPORTANT TO DARTH VADER,
      so to say “Darth Vader wanted to do that all along, it’s no big deal” is rediculous – Choosing Luke over Palpatine is the SINGLE MOST DIFFICULT DECISION OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER’S LIFE, IT IS A @#$KING BIG DEAL.

      But back to Palpatine: I think he was bluffing. However I do think Vader would be willing to give his Life for the Cause if he saw fit. Think about it, he didn’t run away from anything, not ONCE, like, as far as Sith Ethics go, you gotta admire his commitment. The only thing that saved him from the 1st Death Star was Han bumping into him and sending him hurtling sideways into the space above them [still trying to figure out the physics of that scene].

  • May 17, 2015 at 7:15 pm
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    Looks nothing like tarkin. What are you on about?

  • May 17, 2015 at 11:24 pm
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    That was non-content.

    • May 18, 2015 at 6:58 am
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      ^^ non-comment

  • May 18, 2015 at 1:48 am
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    Are sure when he says chatter he actually means the rumour mill and not concrete talks with LFL?

  • May 18, 2015 at 8:22 am
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    The thing that makes me think he’s full of crap is that he keeps repeating the “should it come to pass” line. That repetition likely means he’s been prepped on what to say by PR people. If he had a different response each time it would seem more authentic. But this is exactly what PR people do. They craft your precise response and you’re to give that response every time so you don’t slip up.

  • May 18, 2015 at 9:28 am
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    I really hate his face as well as his attitude. I hope he’s not in it.

  • May 18, 2015 at 10:58 am
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    Look at that face. Grand Moff Tarkin for sure.

    • May 18, 2015 at 12:32 pm
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      No and if he can do that prim 1930’s English accent, I’ll eat my hat. I can’t even do that accent and I’m English!

      Let’s vote, Ben Mendelsohn for Tarkin or not?

  • May 18, 2015 at 1:09 pm
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    What are you guys Tarkin about?

  • May 18, 2015 at 5:03 pm
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    Needs more cheekbone

  • May 18, 2015 at 7:07 pm
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    Just read Tarkin novel. Plot was very poor.

  • May 25, 2015 at 4:54 am
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    Ben Mendelsohn would be an excellent casting for Tarkin. Mendelsohn has a great screen presence, and coupled with some makeup could easily transform him to a 68yo Peter Cushing.

    Any movie that involves the first Death Star will have to involve Tarkin. He was the Grand Moff of Outer Rim and any troublesome oversector, chief commander of the DS1 project and part of the triumvirate, with Vader and Palpatine.

    And, Tarkin was perhaps the greatest monster in the entirety of the Star Wars saga. The blood of billions was on his hands.

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