Del Toro also announced the film will begin shooting this spring.
Even though we still have to wait three grueling months until The Force Awakens, its sequel is already in pre-production, and it looks like the film’s antagonist has been cast.
Benicio Del Toro has recently confirmed that he will have a villainous role in Star Wars: Episode VIII.
Del Toro shared this news through an interview with Rac 1, after being probed on his rumored involvement with the film. He said:
“Ehhh, the thing is, they don’t let me talk too much about it (Star Wars). I’m like the villain. But we’ll see.”
He also acknowledged in the interview that shooting for the film will start next March, which seems reasonable, considering it will be released summer, 2017.
For those unfamiliar with his work, Del Toro has appeared in a number of big films since the early 90’s, notably including The Usual Suspects, Sin City, and last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy as The Collector (that creepy guy with the sweet hair).
While casting for a Star Wars film is always interesting, Del Toro as a villain is especially interesting considering how many bad guys (at least we think they’re bad) are in Episode 7. There’s Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), and Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie).
Does Del Toro’s casting mean one of these characters will die in The Force Awakens? Will Kylo Ren become a Jedi? Or will there be five antagonists in the eighth episode?
We can only speculate at this point, and needless to say, we love doing that.
We won’t see Del Toro in Episode VIII till May 26, 2017, but till then I’m sure you’re well aware that Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters on December 18.
