Entertainment

Benedict Cumberbatch to Star in 'Star Wars'?

by Alanna Bennett

He's known throughout the nerd world as Sherlock Holmes and the newest incarnation of Star Trek's Khan, and throughout the whole world as that dude with the Most British Name* — but could Benedict Cumberbatch also be headed for Star Wars ?

Cumberbatch — who recently worked with Star Wars sequel director J.J. Abrams as the aforementioned Khan in this year's Star Trek: Into Darkness — may be on the path to a role that will surely blur the lines in the Star Trek vs. Star Wars rivalry even more. As usual (this is Abrams we're talking about), the plot of Star Wars: Episode VII is being kept top secret and any scripts or outlines there may be are probably locked away somewhere deep in Los Angeles with Walt Disney's cryogenically frozen head.

As a result of Abrams' tradition of secrecy, pop-culture history seems to be repeating itself because if Cumberbatch truly is about to sign on for Star Wars we will once again have no idea who he'll be playing. He famously denied starring as Khan in Star Trek , only to famously star as Khan in Star Trek.

Cumberbatch, who plays the title character in BBC's Sherlock, has admitted in the past that he's a total Star Wars fanboy:

"I was much more connected to [Star Wars than Star Trek] as a kid, in the way that a lot of kids are because it’s immediate storytelling, very simple — a beautifully, outrageously simple narrative in a way — and a wonderful three-act melodrama, opera. And I loved them ... I really, really loved those films and I always wanted to be Han Solo. Everything Harrison Ford did I just thought was the coolest thing ever."

The film is due out sometime in 2015, and other top names being tossed around for parts in the film include Zac Efron, Ryan Gosling, and Leonardo DiCaprio.

*Baked Cucumberbatch, Blended Creamsickle, Bumblebumble Chumbawumba, Beffahdls Cufhldkjsfhjtch. Sorry, his name is just fun to play with.