Oh, Star Wars speculation, where would we be without you? Today brings the single most solid bit of Star Wars news we’ve had for months, so OBVIOUSLY it’s accompanied by a spectacularly mad bit of speculation, because otherwise the Internet would collapse upon itself and go to work in Swindon. Nothing good happens in Swindon.

Sci-fi top dog JJ Abrams, who is currently head groom at both the Star Wars and Star Trek stables, has confirmed that he and Lawrence Kasdan have completed a script for next year’s Star Wars: Episode VII. “We’re working really hard and we’ve got our script and we’re in deep prep”, said the tiny, bespectacled Lost creator, who also revealed that casting news would come “soon” and he was looking forward to getting it over and done with.

So far, so sensible. Now on to the mad speculation. The podcast Full of Sith claims that Dame Judi Dench is being considered for the role of Mon Mothma, who you may remember as the elegant ginger lady who drifted around with Admiral Ackbar in the original trilogy. In the Expanded Universe, Mon Mothma goes on to become the Chief of State of the New Republic, making an appearance from the character almost certain. And given that Episode VII is apparently going to focus on Luke, Han and Leia (their kids will be taking centre stage in Episode VIII), Dench – who’s less than two years younger than original Mon Mothma Caroline Blakiston – is the perfect age to slot into the role alongside the older and wiser Skywalker/Organa/Solo mob.

That said, we’d be surprised if Dame Judi, who turns 80 this year and is partially sighted, fancied getting into another franchise so soon after ditching James Bond. It doesn’t seem very likely, but neither did Terence Stamp playing Chancellor Valorum or Peter Cushing playing Grand Moff Tarkin – God knows, the galaxy far, far away will always need bureaucrats with English accents. Watch this space.

Would you like to see Judi Dench as Mon Mothma? Let us know below!