Over the Labor Day holiday there were two (or three) major casting bits of news. First Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam were confirmed to star in the lead roles in Universal’s adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey. The next bit of casting news wasn’t so much of a confirmation, but just another mark on the wall of Star Wars: Episode VII casting rumors.

It was reported that Benedict Cumberbatch was in talks to star in the highly anticipated film directed by J.J. Abrams. The news couldn’t have come at a better time since Cumberbatch left Guillermo del Toro’s latest project, Crimson Peak, and the DVD and Blu-ray for Star Trek Into Darkness hits store shelves September 10. But all of that appears to be nothing more than fuel for rumors as Cumberbatch’s reps fully deny that the actor was ever in talks to appear in Star Wars: Episode VII.

So many Star Wars: Episode VII casting rumors, so little time. Just last week we learned that Rachel Hurd-Wood and Alex Pettyfer were approached to star in the J.J. Abrams-directed film. Before that, Zac Efron and Ryan Gosling were in talks, the latter of whom decided not to sign on because he doesn’t do sequels. Plenty of rumors have come and gone, but this latest one is sure to get Star Wars fans and geeks alike talking.

Film Chronicles [via Bleeding Cool] reports that Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is in talks to star in Star Wars: Episode VII.

While any new announcement would have been nice, Disney Chief Alan Horn couldn’t deliver any news during the D23 Expo a few weeks back. So while this latest update isn’t as juicy of news as a title or casting, it might be of some interest to those who love the technical aspect of movies or still believe in using film stock.

It’s being reported that J.J. Abrams will be using 35 mm film to shoot Star Wars: Episode VII. That’s on Kodak film stock 5219, for all the tech geeks out there. The site adds that he has even brought in Dan Mindel, who confirmed the news at a press conference, to be his cinematographer.

We all should know by now, that a mysterious, vague, and untitled teaser video can only come from J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company. And today, one such video has popped up online. Of course the Bad Robot name appearing in front of the actual footage is a dead give away of its origin, but still we pretty much know what we are going to get when you see that red robot run across the field.

Entertainment Weekly debuted the teaser, which doesn’t tell us if it is going to be a movie, a television series, a web series, something else entirely, or a twisted Star Wars: Episode VII tease (imagine?). You can watch the video here below.

Much to everyone’s disappointment, D23 Expo attendees and Star Wars fans were disappointed to hear nothing about the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII from Disney Chief Alan Horn. The exec reiterated information that we already knew, that J.J. Abrams is directing, that Michael Arndt is writing, and that John Williams will be conducting. So since the studio didn’t take the opportunity to make any announcements on their own stage, fans will have to be patient and wait it out.

In the mean time, some juicy gossip regarding who may be returning for Episode VII has been rumored. If true, it could mean that Emperor Palpatine (played by Ian McDiarmid) could rise up and stir up some trouble within the force.