Rumor: Oscar Isaac's 'Star Wars Episode VII' Role Being Expanded; Disney Denies
Lucasfilm and Disney have yet to make an official statement on the condition of Harrison Ford. Earlier this month, Ford broke his leg on the set of Star Wars Episode VII and the latest rumors state he might be unable to shoot for six months. That's a huge chunk of downtime for the man who is rumored to be the lead of the film. In spite of that, we've heard Disney is trying to keep the December 18, 2015 release without any changes. That's all well and good but some kind of change is inevitable as a result of the injury.
The latest rumor comes from New York City tabloid paper the New York Post. They report their "Hollywood sources" suggest the role of Oscar Isaac, whatever that role may be, could be expanded to fill some of Solo's scenes.
According to the NY Post, there are three major contradicting points here about the Oscar Isaac Star Wars 7 role. First, from one source:
"They are now beefing up Oscar's role to be bigger with Harrison injured," said a source familiar with the project that's currently shooting at London's Pinewood Studios.
Then this from another source:
"Shutting down the movie is impossible," and, "The basic story line will not change that much." The source said no characters were being dramatically expanded, but "the order of filming scenes could be shifted" to work around Ford's absence.
And then this statement from Disney, in regards to the Oscar Isaac Star Wars role being expanded:
This is categorically not true.
So three sources, three different stories, that sounds just about right in the world of Star Wars rumors. While I might buy that Isaac plays a descendant of Solo, I don't buy his role being expanded to cover for Ford. All story rumors have pointed to Ford playing a mentor role this time around and that means age and experience. Isaac's character, whomever it is, can't fill that role.
The second source definitely sounds more plausible but, also sounds like the company line. Disney is surely managing this situation with kid gloves so as not to get fans and stockholders up in arms about the potential delays. I'd imagine we'll get an update by Comic-Con time next month.
Do you think this rumor is true? How would you handle the situation?