Benicio Del Toro said "no" when the Star Trek franchise came calling all the way back in 2011, but the same evidently did not go down when the Oscar-winning actor was approached about the possibility of joining the Star Wars saga. We learned this past summer that Lucasfilm and Disney were looking at Del Toro for a part in the movie, and now he's opened up about it every so slightly.
Currently out promoting his new movie A Perfect Day, Benicio Del Toro recently stopped by the radio station RAC 1 in Spain, and it was while talking with the host in Spanish that the actor revealed just the smallest details about what he's doing in Star Wars: Episode VIII. Asked about what he has coming up, the actor noted that he will start working on the sci-fi film in March, but then - according to a translation from StarWars7News - he said,
Ehhh…. the thing is…. They don’t let me talk too much about it, I’m like the villain.
This is an interesting statement for many reasons. For starters, this is very exciting news, as the guy has always had an amazing intensity about him, and it will be great to see that for an antagonistic force in Star Wars: Episode VII. The second reason, however, is the presence of the word "like." It's true that actors don't typically see their own characters as villains - instead seeing the world through their individual perspective - but one must also wonder if Del Toro's role will only appear to be villainous, but instead actually be a force for the side of good. If Adam Driver's Kylo Ren is still in the picture by the time Star Wars: The Force Awakens has reached its conclusion, we may have a clearer picture of exactly where Del Toro may stand.
Star Wars: Episode VIII is getting pieces in place now, with writer/director Rian Johnson set to take the helm of the feature as his first large-scale Hollywood blockbuster. With Benicio Del Toro officially attached to the cast, the project is now currently on the hunt for a new leading lady - and is considering Olivia Cook, Tatiana Maslany, and Gina Rodriguez (what this means for Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens we do not know).
Right now, there are many pots boiling in the Star Wars universe, as The Force Awakens is still being edited, and Star Wars: Rogue One is now in production, but we can still expect to start hearing a lot more about Star Wars: Episode VIII in the next few months (including, probably all matters of cast updates and character descriptions). As for the finished product of the film, we're gonna have to wait until May 26, 2017 to see it.
