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Star Wars: The Force Awakens will bring us our first female Stormtrooper, if rumblings on social media turn out to be accurate.
BBC journalist Lizo Mzimba has claimed on Twitter that a virtually-unknown British actress named Amybeth Hargreaves has been cast as one of the Galactic Empire’s iconic foot soldiers.
London-based Hargreaves is a relative newcomer to cinema with just one feature-length credit to her name, a 2012 film called The Martyrs.
With a CV is dominated by advertising work and music videos, the six-foot actress is said to have boarded The Force Awakens with the help of her connection to Gwendoline Christie, who has a confirmed role in the movie.
So it looks like the Empire is finally embracing diversity in its workforce, with the film’s debut trailer confirming that John Boyega will join Hargreaves among its ranks as our first black Stormtrooper.
The Star Wars prequels taught us that Stormtroopers originated as a clone army born from the DNA of bounty hunter Jango Fett, chosen for his skills on the battlefield; although it’s hard to believe they have been passed down when you watch them try to shoot straight in Episode IV onwards.
Directed by JJ Abrams, The Force Awakens is set approximately 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi and focuses on a trio of young leads, one of which is Boyega’s Finn.
The film’s first trailer crammed a fair bit of content into its minute-and-a-half runtime, offering us a glimpse of droids, X-Wings and, most impressively, the Millennium Falcon.
But we still have more questions than answers – who is that mystery Sith Lord? how do the original trilogy characters fit into the equation? And why is there even a Galactic Empire to speak of following the events of Return of the Jedi?
All will be revealed when Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives in cinemas this December.