Though he's currently filming Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi picture Story of Your Life, Forest Whitaker is reportedly in negotiations to join Gareth Edwards' anthology film, Star Wars: Rogue One. Though his role is currently unknown, Variety reports that Whitaker is in the process of booking his ticket for the standalone film that will take place between the events of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, with its chronology leaning closer to the original Star Wars film. This timeline makes sense considering the film's plot, which centers on a group of rebel fighters who are planning to steal the Death Star plans. Star Wars: Rogue One also stars Felicity Jones as one of the rebel soldiers opposite Ben Mendelsohn set as the main villain; Riz Ahmed and Diego Luna are also rumored to play rebel fighters.

I'm curious to see which side of the force Whitaker's character aligns with, but before he can get involved with Star Wars, he may be starring in another franchise film. The same Variety write-up reports that he's also negotiating a role in Corin Hardy's remake of The Crow, which he would film before going into Star Wars' production.

As for Whitaker's other projects, he'll appear next in Antoine Fuqua's boxing drama Southpaw starring Jake Gyllenhaal; that picture enters the ring July 24th. He's also producing and narrating the indie comedy/drama Dope, which debuts June 19th. Story of Your Life and The Crow are both due out in 2016 but release dates haven't been locked down. Star Wars: Rogue One closes out the year with a December 16, 2016 release. Not a bad couple of years for Whitaker.