Although it has yet to be confirmed by Lucasfilm, it appears the newest member of the Star Wars family has been revealed. Benicio Del Toro, know for his roles in Guardians Of The Galaxy(2014), The Usual Suspects(1995), and many others, has confirmed that he has been cast in Star Wars Episode VIII. The news comes after rumors surfaced claiming that Del Toro was in talks for a role in the film, and the actor subsequently confirmed them. Now, Star Wars 7 News is reporting that Del Toro spoke with a Spanish program on Rac1.org and further confirmed that he has a role in the film. In addition, he revealed more details about his character and when he is expected to begin filming. The original interview is in Spanish, but Star Wars 7 News provided us with an English transcript of the exchange:
Interviewer: And are you going to shoot something after that?
Benicio Del Toro: No, just… *pause* Star Wars is coming up, we will see how that turns out. I think we start shooting in March.
Interviewer: And what’s your role in this new Star Wars chapter?
Benicio: Ehhh…. the thing is…. They don’t let me talk too much about it, I’m like the villain.
Interviewer: Oh wow!
Benicio: But…. we’ll see…*laughs*
While The Force Awakens is now in post-production and Rogue One is currently filming, it seems logical that Episode VIII would begin shooting in or before March of next year in preparation of it's May 26th, 2017 release date. Also, Del Toro's comments about his character being "the villain" are interesting. Many fans have speculated that if Del Toro is indeed playing the main baddie of Episode VIII, it could be mean that Supreme Leader Snoke and/or Kylo Ren will meet their end in The Force Awakens to make room for the new character.
While I won't pretend to know anything about the fates of either Snoke or Kylo, I will say that's highly unlikely. Star Wars 7 News speculates that Del Toro's character could seem to be the villain but really isn't, or he could be the trying to downplay the role. The most likely option, in my opinion, is that he simply doesn't know that much about what role he will have, hence his obvious hesitation. We can assume that he does not know anything about The Force Awakens or anything about Episode VIII outside of his character's part. In other words, he may be just as clueless as we are.
It would be unwise to be so quick to assume Del Toro is playing a Dark Side Force user in the same vein as Kylo Ren. Del Toro could fit into numerous villainous roles, such as as a First Order officer, crime lord or Bounty Hunter. The Galaxy far, far away is diverse, and it will be very exciting and interesting to see how Benicio Del Toro will fit into it.
Source: rac1.org
Via: Star Wars 7 News
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I hope that Kylo Ren isn't the new Maul. What I mean is think back to 1999: Maul was promoted to be the Vader of the prequel trilogy. His face was on all the merchandise and was everywhere. And what happened to him? Got cut in half, fell down a reactor shaft, and wasn't seen again until a decade later, AFTER the prequel trilogy was completed.
ReplyDeleteCut to 2015, a new trilogy is about to begin, and Kylo Ren is being presented similarly to Maul: the new baddie, the enforcer, and his face is everywhere on the merchandise for The Force Awakens. If this happens again, I will be disappointed.
There is a possibility: We don't know who is in charge of the First Order OR the Knights of Ren. Snoke might be the leader of one and not the other. General Hux might just be on the level of Tarkin in ANH. Del Toro might be the primary antagonist of the whole trilogy but unseen until Episode VIII like the Emperor wasn't seen until Episode V.
There are other bad guys in TFA other than Smoke and Kylo who might need replacing :)
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling we'll be meeting a few more Knights of Ren, looks a good bet.
There are other bad guys in TFA other than Smoke and Kylo who might need replacing :)
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling we'll be meeting a few more Knights of Ren, looks a good bet.
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ReplyDeleteAgreed. ...spoilers bellow...
ReplyDeleteIt said on a product leak there was more knights of Ren in the galexy all seem to be working with the order. He may be another. .. maby a senior one.
Agreed. ...spoilers bellow...
ReplyDeleteIt said on a product leak there was more knights of Ren in the galexy all seem to be working with the order. He may be another. .. maby a senior one.
The films always gave us a variety of villain types, so maybe he's a new crime lord - similar to Jabba the Hutt? Btw I do wonder who replaced Jabba on Tattooine after ROTJ. 30 years later...Lando would make an excellent candidate...
ReplyDeleteagreed with much of what is said here, especially what Vader the White said about another maul. Maul was an epic failure specifically because of how badass he was for all of 30 minutes. i'd be shocked if they repeated that blatant error.
ReplyDeletei'm more inclined to think that it isn't kylo or snoke that are getting scrubbed out (why would you not want to keep andy serkis and his elite skills on board?)... but perhaps captain phasma or general hux. or maybe del toro's character is an entirely new guy... nobody ever said the bad guys should only have two or three awesome characters hehe
either way, he's a great actor and i can't wait.
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ReplyDeletescrew that, focus on hellboy 3, don't waste more time
ReplyDeleteThis is star wars and there is no hellboy 3 in production idiot.
ReplyDelete@nuno pumpkin please, don't confuse BENICIO del Toro with GUILLERMO del Toro
ReplyDelete