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Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o has had talks with JJ Abrams over a role in forthcoming Star Wars revival Episode VII, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nyong’o, who picked up the best supporting actress prize for her feature film debut in harrowing race drama 12 Years a Slave earlier this month, is said to be in the running for the part of the female lead. The 31-year-old Mexican-Kenyan actor’s meeting with Abrams took place prior to the Oscars, at which Steve McQueen’s film also took home best film and best adapted screenplay.

Five actors were last week reported to be in the running for a young male lead role in Episode VII. Downton Abbey’s Ed Speleers, Attack the Block’s John Boyega and Breaking Bad’s Jesse Plemons, as well as stage specialists Matthew James Thomas and Ray Fisher, are said to be up for the part of a young Jedi apprentice who will take on Adam Driver’s previously announced “Darth Vader-like” villain.

Episode VII is expected to centre on the iconic trio of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo portrayed by Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, though younger newcomers will likely move centre stage for future instalments. Abrams’s film is reportedly shooting from mid-May to September this year, mainly at London’s Pinewood studios, for a Christmas 2015 release. It will be the first Star Wars movie to emerge since Disney’s US$4,05 billion purchase of all rights to the long-running space saga.