Getty ImagesWhat do Star Wars: Episode VII and Fifty Shades of Grey have in common?
Well, unless J.J. Abrams takes a completely unexpected turn with the storytelling, not a whole lot—except for the fact that a host of hunky actors have been linked to both.
And no one has signed on for either. (No offense, Harrison Ford.)
While Garrett Hedlund is the latest star to have reportedly closed the Fifty Shades door behind him (his rep had no comment for E! News), Zac Efron and Ryan Gosling are the latest actors to be linked to the upcoming addition to the Star Wars universe.
Gosling was also at one time rumored to be author E.L. James' No. 1 choice to play Christian Grey, but she shot that one down herself, saying that so-called fantasty was "completely misreported."
Latino Review, which also brought us the news that Jonathan Rhys-Meyer was wanted for Star Wars, is now reporting that Efron and Gosling are in the running, with Gosling in particular being talked about for the role of Luke Skywalker's son.
And, according to the site, Leonardo DiCaprio also took a meeting, but passed.
Latino Review is predicting Episode VII casting announcements at Disney's D23 Expo in August. The Comic-Con-esque extravaganza is promising plenty of Star Wars content, so...we'll see.
But if none of the above names are serious contenders, then Star Wars 7 is drifting into Fifty Shadesian, everyone-and-yet-no-one territory.
We're going to predict, however, bigger names for Abrams' flick, considering young Hollywood most likely won't have to worry about how much nudity it's comfortable with before signing on for that one. And, you know, it's Star Wars!
Zoe Saldana, for one, is down, telling E! News in February that she wanted to play "a sexy something, like a princess from another planet" in her Star Trek director's other intergalactic project.
Meanwhile, besides Hedlund and Gosling, those mentioned in the same hot breath as Fifty Shades, which is set to be directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, include: Robert Pattinson, Arrow's Stephen Amell, Alex Pettyfer, Jerry O'Connell, Ian Somerhalder, Emma Watson, Mila Kunis and Krysten Ritter.
How about they send some of those hotties Star Wars' way?
What do you think about Gosling in the role of young(er) Skywalker? Or Efron?! (He does kind of resemble Jake Lloyd, who played little Anakin in Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace.)
(Originally published July 24, 2013, at 7:14 p.m. PT)