Entertainment

'Star Wars' Is Making An Amazing Casting Decision

by Michael Arbeiter

Though in a perfect world, we could have a Star Wars film that featured Rooney Mara, Tatiana Maslany, and Felicity Jones, the world we live in, sadly, is not perfect. Don’t get me wrong, of course, our world has its perks — we’ve got a Wet Hot American Summer Netflix series in development and an Amy Schumer movie hitting theaters this July, and that's all amazing news; but, if the world was perfect, it wouldn't be the three of them merely screen-testing for a role in Gareth Edwards’ standalone Star Wars feature, they'd all already be cast in it.

But now, we must ask: Since the world is not perfect and all three of these amazing, talented actresses are just screen-testing for a role — meaning one will be chosen — which of these three women should take the role?

We can’t simply put our eggs in the basket of whichever actress whose David Fincher thriller, BBC America sci-fi series, or Oscar-nominated biopic we like best. Instead, we must really analyze each candidate’s résumé thoroughly to determine which of the trio is the best fit for a headlining role at the center of Edwards’ forthcoming addition to the Star Wars universe — it's only responsible, after all. This is Star Wars we're talking about, here.

Rooney Mara

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The 29-year-old Mara, sister of one particularly ill-fated political journalist on television (*cough*watch House of Cards*cough*), has a few points in her corner for the race to Tatooine:

Experience working with droids: Her

Experience facing off against evil empires: The Social Network

Experience with her own brand of Jedi Mind Tricks: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Mara certainly does have the creative range to find a welcome home amongst the earnest imagination that enwraps the Star Wars universe. But is she the best fit?

Tatiana Maslany

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Good a choice as Mara is, however, the Orphan Black star might show up her competitor:

Experience with an all-powerful Force: The Vow (love, duh)

Experience in strange alien landscapes: Parks and Recreation (Pawnee is it's own world, OK?)

Experience that might suit her for a tour in the Clone Wars: What do you think?

Maslany has the badass bravado factor that blows Mara out of the water; her work on Orphan Black isn't just action shots, either. She does remarkable character work — as over 7 characters! — without ever letting the outlandish nature of her show's premise pare into her devotion.

Felicity Jones

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And what about the Oscar favorite of the bunch: Felicity Jones, whose career has been taking off something fierce these past couple of years?

Experience working with space-related sciences: The Theory of Everything

Experience working with blood-related sciences (you know, like... midichlorians): The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Experience spanning distant worlds in the name of a singular mission: Like Crazy

As it stands, Jones is the dark horse of the bunch, due mostly to her stocked schedule filming the third The Da Vinci Code movie Inferno. While she'd be a fine addition to the Star Wars canon, personally, I'm still pulling for Maslany to take the lead here.

Images: Getty (4)