Star Wars 8: Tom Hardy reportedly set to cameo in The Force Awakens' sequel

In a role very similar to Daniel Craig's in The Force Awakens

Warner Bros (Warner Bros)

Only after the initial hype surrounding Star Wars: The Force Awakens wore off did people start deducing who the famous faces were beneath those stormtrooper helmets.

Most notably, James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, had a speaking cameo in the film, playing the trooper who gets Force mind-controlled by Rey.

Doing a similar cameo in Star Wars: Episode VIII will reportedly be Tom Hardy, star of last year’s Mad Max: Fury Road, Legend, and The Revenant.

According to Making Star Wars, a website dedicated to Star Wars rumours that previously accurately reported on Craig’s cameo and the Han Solo twist a year before The Force Awakens' release, Hardy will have some lines in the film.

UPDATE: General Leia herself Carrie Fisher has added to the speculationby re-tweeting the Express's story 'confirming' Hardy will appear in the film.

The exact details they give contain some * plot spoilers * that you may not wish to read. If you’re wanting to go into Star Wars 8 completely unspoilt then we recommend this piece on how Boba Fett was once intended to be the main villain in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Still here? If so, then the report states how Hardy will be a First Order stormtrooper who meets Finn who is on a secret mission, infiltrating the First Order dressed as a stormtrooper.

Once he spots John Boyega's character, Hardy’s surprised trooper “slaps Finn on the ass” having previously thought FN-2187 was dead. He starts to sarcastically congratulate Finn on the promotion to Resistance infiltrator and spy before - to Finn’s amazement - letting him go.

Initial thoughts are that an infiltration mission by Finn seems completely plausible. If the report is correct, it seems unlikely the “slap on the ass” will actually make the final film.

The reason Hardy’s trooper may let the TR8R go is likely because of unease in the First Order ranks: they’ve likely lost hope in their leader since the Resistance were able to blow up the Starkiller Base with relative ease in The Force Awakens.

Meanwhile, in other Star Wars news, Disney have found their young Han Solo in actor Alden Ehrenreich. Here’s everything you need to know about the Hail, Cesar! actor.