Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez (“Jane the Virgin”), Golden Globe nominee Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”) and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” star Olivia Cooke are considered the top contenders for the new female lead in Rian Johnson‘s “Star Wars: Episode VIII,” multiple individuals familiar with the casting situation told TheWrap.
Insiders insist it’s early in the casting process and that Johnson is still auditioning actresses, with several rising stars yet to read for him. Others suggest that Johnson is narrowing down the field and that Rodriguez, Maslany and Cooke will be among a group of girls slated to chemistry-read with “The Force Awakens” star John Boyega before the end of the month.