New 'Star Wars' rumors start with Donnie Yen namecheck

Hong Kong's mixed martial arts film star Donnie Yen has been named in a casting report on "Star Wars Episode VII," due May 2017.

The Chinese territory's Apple Daily named Yen as one of the first actors associated with "Star Wars Episode VIII," even while "Episode VII" is yet five months away and "Star Wars: Rogue One" arrives December 2016.

Yen has a host of prominent films to his name, with an acclaimed lead role in award-winning Wing Chun biographical drama "Ip Man" (2008) and its two sequels among them.

As a stunt choreographer, he has a keen understanding of the craft, having accrued four Hong Kong Film Awards in eleven years, contributing behind the scenes to another HKFA favorite in "Ip Man."

So if "Star Wars Episode VII" is looking to kick off its casting with a titan of Hong Kong and Chinese action cinema, Yen would be a good shout.

And Apple Daily seems to think it is, with Yen named winner of a casting round that had also been looking at Jet Li ("The Expendables"), Stephen Chow ("Kung Fu Hustle"), Tony Leung Chiu Wai ("Hero") and Daniel Wu ("The Heavenly Kings") among others.

The suggestion is supported by Twitchfilm which, while cautious about taking Apple Daily at its word, had heard that "Rogue One" had also been pursuing Chinese talent.

Plus, the rebooted "Star Wars" franchise had already recruited several significant names from Asian cinema for December 2015's "Star Wars Episode VII" in the formidable form of Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman -- all seen in Indonesia's "The Raid 2."

Already announced for "Rogue One" had been Felicity Jones ("The Theory of Everything"), Diego Luna ("Elysium"), Riz Ahmed ("Nightcrawler") and Ben Mendelsohn ("Bloodlines"), with Gareth Edwards of "Godzilla" as director.

Shooting is now said to have started on the 2016 release, nearly two months sooner than expected -- one possible reason might be the creation of a teaser trailer. But British website Star Wars Aficionado reminds us that positive confirmation from Lucasfilm is not likely until after "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" hits cinemas on July 31; that's thanks to a deal between Disney and "Mission: Impossible" studio Paramount.