Doctor Who’s Matt Smith joins Star Wars: Episode IX

Enlarge / Matt Smith in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. (credit: Screen Gems)

Actor Matt Smith has joined the cast of Star Wars: Episode IX, according to a report in Variety. The publication claims he will fill a "key" role but does not specify beyond that.

Smith might be best known as the 11th Doctor in the Doctor Who franchise. He has also appeared in Terminator Genisys and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and he was recently nominated for an Emmy for his performance as Prince Philip in Netflix's The Crown, a drama that follows the life of Queen Elizabeth II. That series is still running, but all its major roles have been recast (including Smith's) as the third season will move on to a much later point in Her Majesty's life.

Smith is not the first confirmed cast member of Episode IX by any stretch. We've previously learned that The Americans' Keri Russell has a role that "calls for action-heavy fight scenes," that The Lord of the Rings and Lost's Dominic Monaghan has been cast in an unknown part, that Mark Hamill will return in some capacity, that Billy Dee Williams may reprise his role as Lando Calrissian, and that even the recently deceased Carrie Fisher will return thanks to unused footage shot for The Force Awakens.

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