Darth
A man dressed as Darth Vader of "Star Wars" stands near a hot-air balloon in the shape of Mickey Mouse. Reuters file photo/Mario Armas

Talk about a disturbance in the force.

A Facebook page set up by the casting agent for what is believed to be the upcoming “Star Wars” movie abruptly shut down after it was bombarded by a barrage of acting hopefuls.

Earlier this week, casting agent Claire Curry tweeted out an open call for an unnamed “Walt Disney Pictures Film,” which contained breakdowns for two characters, Rachel and Thomas. Rachel is described as a young woman, 17-18, of any ethnicity. Thomas is described as 19-23, handsome, smart and athletic.

Curry’s newly created Twitter account, @UKopencall, already has more than 18,000 followers. At some point after the casting call spread across social media, Claire Curry’s public Facebook page, which she had listed under the announcement, shut down. She later tweeted that it couldn’t handle the volume.

A new page, UK Open Call, was created on Thursday, and already has nearly 300 likes and counting. That page, too, is being flooded with comments about age requirements and other details, despite the fact that such details are included in the casting breakdown.

U.K. auditions for the project are being held throughout November at various venues in Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Dublin and London. Earlier on Thursday, the agent sent out multiple tweets imploring actors not to call the venues and pester them with questions.

Set after the events of 1983’s “Return of the Jedi,” “Star Wars: Episode VII” is the first of a new film trilogy expected to hit theaters beginning in 2015. The project was announced shortly after the purchase of the privately held Lucasfilm Ltd. by the Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in October 2012.

Disney hasn't confirmed or denied that the casting call is related to the “Star Wars” film. A request to Disney corporate wasn't immediately returned. Updates will be posted here.

In the meantime, would-be Rachels and Thomases continue to flood social media with questions and comments (about 17 tweets a minute were being directed at Curry’s account as of Thursday). They’re hoping to land the role of a lifetime -- in a galaxy not so far away.

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