With all eyes on D23 and its Star Wars: The Force Awakens presentation tomorrow, you would be forgiven for not remembering that we have two more episodes of the core saga to come. And our eyes are on Episode VIII for the moment, with confirmation of an interesting rumour that floated onto the internet last month, touting that Benicio Del Toro was being sought for the villain role by director Rian Johnson. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, the actor confirmed he was in talks to join the Star Wars universe, saying “I can’t tell you much about it but I think it might happen. It looks like it’s gonna happen so I’m very excited”. Hopefully, this will work out better than Del Toro’s negotiations with Star Trek Into Darkness (he was in line to play Khan, before talks fell apart), and of course, he’s no stranger to a Disney owned galaxy full of weird of wonderful creatures, thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy.
Of course, we know nothing of what Episode VIII has in store for us, but it’s safe to assume Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac will be returning. On top of that, Adam Driver is expected to be the big bad of the new trilogy, so throw Del Toro into the mix and Johnson has the beginnings of a really great cast for his foray to a galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: Episode VIII is set for release May 26th 2017.
