Is Chiwetel Ejiofor Headed to 'Star Wars: Episode VII'?

All but a sure thing to earn a Best Actor nomination (and likely victory) for 12 Years A Slave, Chiwetel Ejiofor is finally receiving the attention many people have felt he's long deserved. Sci-fi fans have been familiar with him for a long time, as he played the sword-wielding villain in Joss Whedon's Serenity, and he had a co-starring role in Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men. And if the latest rumors are true it's a genre he'll be returning to, albeit in a galaxy far far away.

A story out of the U.K. Times has Ejiofor spotted in the offices of J.J. Abrams, which in today's "break the news first facts be damned" world of movie journalism means he's been cast in Star Wars: Episode VII. At least that's how the folks over at Jedi News take it to mean, as they've run with it to boast the headline "Star Wars Episode VII: Chiwetel Ejiofor Cast in Episode VII" with the promise that more information will be revealed later today. We'll see about that. 

When asked directly about Ejiofor, Abrams gave one of his usual non-answers....

He looks at me, dead-eyed. “I can’t discuss casting,” he says. “But he’s a very talented gentleman.”

Yes, he is very talented, which is why Abrams could be approaching him for any number of Bad Robot projects totally unrelated to Star Wars. At the same time, considering all of the bad press about rewrites and possible delays it stands to reason that Abrams' focus is squarely on Star Wars right now. And this isn't the first time Ejiofor has been connected to the film, with reports he had read for a role surfacing some months ago. So maybe this Ejiofor rumor turns out to be true, or it goes down the rumor rabbit hole like all of those stories about Benedict Cumberbatch playing a Sith lord.  Maybe Lucasfilm surprises us and confirms both? On a side note, am I the only one who thinks Ejiofor's soulful, butt-kicking turn in Redbelt was the perfect primer for playing a Jedi? 

Star Wars: Episode VII is set to open summer 2015.