The cast of "Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One" continues to grow as a report from Yahoo! Singapore states that the film has added Chinese actor Jiang Wen to the roster. The news came right after rumors surfaced that director Gareth Edwards was scouting for Asian talent. No details regarding Wen's character have been disclosed at the time of writing.
Wen is not as well-known to U.S. audiences as his peers such as Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Jet Li and Chow Yun-Fat, among others, because all of his feature films were made in Asia and he has not yet made a big Hollywood appearance. However, fans of foreign films will recognize him for his portrayal of Cao Cao in "The Lost Bladesman," an adaptation of the classic literature "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and his film "Let the Bullets Fly" which he wrote, starred, and directed.
This follows the rumors that another Asian star, Donnie Yen, was cast but for "Star Wars: Episode VIII" which will be directed by Rian Johnson. Fans have speculated that Yen would be cast in "Rogue One" since Edwards was looking for an Asian talent and it is unclear if both actors have been cast or if they were both vying for the same role.
Disney and LucasFilm have not given their official statement regarding the casting for either "Rogue One" or the untitled "Episode VIII" so at this point, Yen's and Wen's casting should still be considered as rumors.
If Wen does appear in "Rogue One," then he will be accompanying lead actress Felicity Jones, Riz Ahmed, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker and Ben Mendelsohn. Sam Claflin is also rumored to be in the film.
"Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One" is set between "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope" and focuses on a small team of rebels as they fight to steal the Death Star plans from Darth Vader and the Empire. The film opens in theaters nationwide on Dec. 16, 2016.
