Star Wars: Episode 8 doesn’t hit theaters until the end of next year, but director Rian Johnson trucks along with production. John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, and Adam Driver reprise their Force Awakens roles alongside a crop of newcomers, including Benicio Del Toro and Laura Dern. Recently, a rumor buzzed around the webosphere claiming Mad Max himself, Tom Hardy, had a role to play in all of this. Though his casting remains unconfirmed, this alleged part now as alleged details.

Stop reading if you want to stay free of potential spoilers, though this rumor could be as hollow as Kylo Ren’s heart. Just saying, you were warned.


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Image via 20th Century Fox

According to details obtained from source Making Star Wars, Hardy plays a First Order stormtrooper who recognizes an “incognito” Finn while the defected FN-2187 is on a secret mission. Hardy’s trooper gives him a friendly smack on the butt as he’s excited to see his old friend from First Order academy, and congratulates Finn on his promotion to “resistance infiltrator.” Then, Hardy’s trooper walks off and Finn goes about his business.

Again, take this with a grain of salt for the time being. But, after hearing of Daniel Craig’s involvement in The Force Awakens as the stormtrooper from Rey’s Jedi mind trick scene, there’s some precedence. If true, this would imply that Finn’s true allegiances are still unknown by at least some portion of the First Order forces. Making of Star Wars speculates most of those who knew died during the chaos on Starkiller Base.

Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Dohmnall Gleeson (General Hux), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (General Leia), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), and Andy Serkis (Snoke) also return for Episode 8. The film is scheduled for release on December 15, 2017, so we have a long ways to go to ponder this latest rumor of a galaxy far, far away.

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Image via 20th Century Fox