Oscar-nominated actress Felicity Jones will allegedly star as the female lead in the upcoming "Star Wars" spin-off film directed by Gareth Edwards, the Hollywood Reporter reports.

In addition to Jones, Chris Weitz has also joined the "Star Wars" team to pen the film's script and replace the movie's original writer, Gary Whitta. 

Prior to choosing Jones, the "Star Wars" casting team held several meeting, testings, and readings last week to choose their female lead, THR reports. Actresses Tatiana Mislay and Rooney Mara were previously in the running for the lead role.

As far as the male lead, THR claims that Aaron Paul and Edgar Ramirez are in the running.

The upcoming "Star Wars" standalone film is scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 16, 2016. 

Disney has yet to publicly comment on the news of Jones' casting.

Meanwhile, Jones has been gracing the red carpet this awards season for her critically acclaimed performance in "The Theory of Everything."

Jones is currently nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Stephen Hawking's wife, Jane Hawking.

In a recent interview with the Telegraph, Jones revealed that Stephen Hawking appeared on-set one day while she and Eddie Redmayne were filming a scene.  After watching their performances, Hawking was so pleased that he asked Jones for a kiss afterwards.

"It showed his rather flirtatious nature and this amazing capacity he has to not take himself too seriously." she said of the kiss. "I loved him. It's so nerve-wracking meeting these people whose lives you are getting so involved with and you don't want to make a fool of yourself, especially with someone like Stephen who has changed the world in so many ways. Eddie and I just sat there trying to make conversation and not seem like we are total idiots."

THR reports that Jones also stars in the film "True Story" alongside James Franco and Jonah Hill, and is currently shooting "A Monster Calls" which she stars in along with Liam Neeson and Toby Kebbell.