Saoirse Ronan Up For Lead In STAR WARS: EPISODE VII?

The Star Wars: Episode VII casting rumor mill is spinning once again, with talk that young Irish actress Saoirse Ronan is the latest name to crop up on that list as one of the female main characters in the upcoming sequel.

According to Latino Review and independently verified by the sources of Bleeding Cool, the news also includes an update on Benedict Cumberbatche‘s casting situation, and some location shooting news.

The Host star has reportedly read for a role, but there are other celebrity names who could get the part instead. Popular young actress did recently turn down a role in another Disney property, The Avengers: Age of Ultron. There’s still no word of what role she read for, but they did add via Twitter that there will be a female villain in the story as well.

Besides, Latino Review is so confident that Cumberbatch has already been cast in the next three films, claiming that denials out of his camp are lies.

You can probably make money sharing your skepticism about these casting stories, so I’d move on to something more to your liking, like perhaps filming location. The site is also reporting that Lucasfilm is looking at Las Cruces, New Mexico for some of the scenes in the first film, while most of the movie will be shot in London, however.

Episode VII is tentatively scheduled to reach theaters by summer 2015. Cameras start rolling on the new Star Wars movie by early 2014.

Perhaps the speculation about returning to Tatooine is in order?