Benicio Del Toro Briefly Talks About his Role in Star Wars: Episode VIII
While chatting with the Puerto Rican star about his upcoming Kosovo War drama A Perfect Day, HitFix managed to briefly talk with the actor about his upcoming role in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII.
Benicio Del Toro on when he will begin shooting:
“I’m traveling to England to shoot sometime in the spring.”
We already know from Kathleen Kennedy that filming for Episode VIII starts in late January. Obviously Del Toro will join the cast later this year, probably in March (that’s what he said in a previous interview from last year HERE). This suggests that he won’t have a major role in the movie, which was quite expected.
BDT on director Rian Johnson:
“I’m looking forward to working with Rian Johnson too, who was the one that reached out to me and had the idea of me playing the character that I’m gonna play. So that’s kinda nice.”
BDT on The Force Awakens success:
“It’s more surreal now, I’ll tell you that. I mean, after the success…not only at the box office, but the success of the quality of [Episode VII]. I really enjoyed the film…so it’s kind of nerve-wracking now, but I’m really happy to be part of it.”
BDT on if he’s playing a villain:
“You know, I’m not supposed to say, but that’s what’s out there, so I’m not gonna try and fight it.”
Again in the interview from last year Del Toro revealed that he is playing a villain in the movie. Then later he started denying that in what looked like damage control. Now it appears that he gave up and he won’t fight it. It would be interesting to see if indeed his character is just a villain or there is something more than meets the eye with him…
Source: HitFix (via Le Jedi Lorrain):
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
And anyone who has not seen Guardians of the Galaxy is freaking out over the title image in this article. 🙂
ROFL.
Anyone reading this who has not seen GotG has missed the best SW movie of the past decade.
I know this is speculation but, yeah, I’m gonna put my money on him playing a certain villain.
Why did you paint John Travolta blue?
My die are loaded. Through a trusted friend, he’s a board game designer himself professionally, works on mechanics specifically for several popular games over the last 5 years. One of his best friends, also in the industry, is working on an upcoming board game for this Star Wars trilogy (one of those games where card expansions are released as the movie is, and you add those to your initial cards that came with the game). As part of that, they needed to know the story moving forward.
The only piece of info my friend would tell me, because I begged for three weeks, was to confirm who Mr. Toro is playing. And sorry, but no comeback role for Travolta this time.
Take that with a grain of salt, believe what you want folks.
Not a snowballs chance in hell lol
He’s an amazing actor. I know someone that knows him. Close enough to hang out with him at his house. He’s crazy. He’s crazy about movies. He’ll binge watch movies for days in his underwear all while yelling at the screen, critiquing them.
Yeah, sure you do. I’ll be back in a few hour; I’ve got dinner tonight with the Obamas and Leonardo DiCaprio
You’re lying. I’m friends with both Leonardo DiCaprio AND the Obamas, and I know they don’t get on well, so they wouldn’t be having dinner together 🙂
Ha! Yeah well I didn’t say I knew him. Just some girl I know who “dated” him. Not that hard to believe is it?
Was he in his underwear when he “dated” her? Critiquing her for days…
Let’s see…a friend of the Resistance which betrays them under duress, and then in a moral crisis comes back to save them at the end, but only after leaving one of our heroes in dire staits until E9 – DUH-DUH DUHHHHHHHHHH…..
How do you know that? Have you read the script? Do you know these things about the character? No? Then shut up for once.
Um, he is referring to Lando….
No, he’s saying that the character will be just like Lando. He’s trying to say that VIII will be like V, but he doesn’t know anything about Benicio’s character yet.
Tell me something – when you created your account, were you trying to spell ‘turd’, but just don’t have the attention span to follow through?
Be respectful to other members or you will be banned.
Hmmmm… that’s weird. We’ll have 5 villains in VII: Snoke, Kylo, Phasma, Hux and Ben
Snoke & Ben are 2 different villains?
Err… yes?
@Aras Volodka:disqus I think you meant to say “Kylo & Ben are 2 different villains?” instead of “Snoke & Ben are 2 different villains?” and I think @Paulo meant “Ben” as in Benicio.
I was just making a funny. So it’s Snoke, Benicio, Kylo, Phasma, & Hux. Though I think Phasma will switch sides… so it might only be 4 villains.
It would suck if Star Wars’ first female villain dropped the shields in TFA before switching sides in VIII.
Captain Phasma is not the first female villain in the Star Wars movies, that would be Zam Wesell the female bounty hunter in Episode 2 also had more screen time.
But fewer lines.
And she’d have had more…if wasn’t for that meddling Jango and his special dart from those “Clonerrrrrs” (as Dex would say)….
Oh. You count her?
Kylo and Ben are same character.
Doesn’t he mean Benicio?
That’s what I meant… Benicio del Toro.
exactly my thoughts, I mean it haven’t been THAT crowded in SW ever.. I suppose Hux will take a backseat and support Ben’s character, Snoke will remain in the shadows until the full reveal in IX and Kylo will be mostly passive until the final act of VIII as he’ll be training/recuperating throughout the movie. the only thing is Phasma, the most overhyped and underdeveloped villain of VII, wouldn’t be surprised if she gets even less attention in VIII
btw I just realized that they had completely cut her out of Maz Castle assault which is compelling since her first official photo was from that set
She’ll probably get more attention just to appeasing the unsatisfied fans. She’ll be like Boba in V.
Yeah, but not on the same level. Snoke will still be in the background, Kylo will be featured throughout, Phasma will take a Boba Fett (minor) role, Hux will purely be seen at First Order rallies and on the Finalizer, and I have no idea what Benicio will be up to, but it seems to be minor as well.
Yeah, thats a bit crowded on the villians side, who were already underdeveloped in TFA. I think Hux has to get the ax in this next movie as he either goes down with the FInalizer or is treasonously killed by Kylo in a fit of rage. He is the only expendable villan ATM. Snoke is the Big bad so hes safe, Kylo is the most interesting character and won’t die, and phasma is so inconcequential that killing her would have no impact. Hux is in that General Veers sweet-spot that we get him as a villian but hes not so critical that he can die.
Underdeveloped? Oh please. Kylo is a much more developed character than Vader was in A New Hope. Hux has been developed just as much, if not more than Tarkin, and will be be able to be developed further, as he will actually be in the next movie. Phasma has just as much character development as Boba Fett, but has appeared one movie earlier, so she’ll get an entire extra movie to become more developed.
Well, in the OT we had the emperor instead of Snoke, Vader instead of Kylo, Boba Fett instead of Phasma, Tarkin and Piet instead of Hux, and Jabba instead of who I presume to be Ben’s character.
If he is playing a villain, or at least an antagonist, I hope he’s not part of the First Order or another Dark Sider. I wouldn’t mind him playing a gangster of some kind, perhaps the new Jabba the Hutt or something closer to Prince Xizor from “Shadows of the Empire”.
Yeah that’s what I imagine him as — an original character not tied to either side in the war directly or with the Force.
For example, I could see him as the head of the company that makes starship fighters and weapons. He plays both sides behind the scenes, making things worse, so that the New Republic agrees to fund the military expansion of the Resistance, and, thus, de Toro’s company wins this valuable contract. He could be like the amoral version of Lando.
Sort of like the Collector ?
I wouldn’t be opposed if BDT were to play Snoke “behind holographic the veil” as it were.
I would eat that right up.
Like the Wizard of Oz? Hmmmm… Interesting idea.
one step closer to…thrawn.
I’m trying not to get my hopes up but I want that so badly!
He’s just engaging to watch, whatever he does.
In TFA, Kylo Ren was defeated by Rey. So episode 8 needs formidable enemy.
How about KYLO?
I’m calling it now. An unwounded, better-trained kylo is going to totally decimate Rey in the rematch for episode 8
Oh yeah. I want him to have that cyborg eye like in that TFA concept art.
FTFY: Chewie and Rey.
In Kylo’s defense, his defeat came after he had been shot in the side by Chewbacca and had been dealing with the trauma coming as a result of killing his father. Rather than bring him the freedom from pain or the peace of mind he had thought it would, it weakened him and made him feel worse. Factor in also that Snoke had told Kylo to bring Rey to him.
So Kylo wasn’t even trying to kill or even to hurt Rey. Even with all that, and with his injuries, Kylo was winning the fight with Rey. He kept advancing and swatting her attacks away while she was constantly backing up and even running away from him . All the while he got weaker from his wounds, but his big mistake was talking to Rey about the Force instead of using the Force to take her out of the fight and bring her to Snoke like he was told to do.
Yes, Rey won this time but I put it down more to Kylo’s own fault and circumstance. He triggered the Force in Rey by offering to teach her. If he had been trying to hurt or even kill her as he was no-nonsense with Finn at the end ,he could have won and brought her to Snoke. Neither of them, neither Rey nor Kylo has completed their training. If they fight again in Episode VIII, the result may be different.
Whatever character he plays, I just hope they put him in a mask or enough make up that we can’t recognize him. Seeing his face in a SW movie would totally take me out of the moment.
Speak for yourself, I want him all over that star Wars.
Yeah, it’d be like if distinctive faces like Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee suddenly appeared in SW. Ruined!
Not for me.
This guy and Forrest Whittaker are two of the very best actors, and we’re getting them both in upcoming Star Wars movies!
Well of course Benicio is a villain, just LOOK at him, the dude is creepy.
His name is KHAN!
Lor San Tekka Jr, killed off in the first 10 minutes 😛
I’m hoping he plays some kind of underworld character who chases down Finn to try to get him to pay off Han’s debt. Maybe King Prana or Ducain? Really, I just want Finn’s half of the movie to be a bunch of people chasing him all over the place. Phasma, del Toro, I don’t care. I just want Finn to take on Han’s role here.
But that might be a bit too Empire-esque, and we don’t want want any “remake” complaints.
Why would Finn have to pay Han’s debt ? He didn’t even inherit the Falcon, which is with Rey now.
Trying desperately to get Rian/Kathy to shoot on 65/70. Fingers crossed.
Poe’s daddy.
Maybe one of the Knights of ren. Thrawn would be awesome tho or a old boba fett!! Yes
HYPE!!! After the wonder of Ep7, it’s nice to know how damned close this one is. Having Del Toro added to the already stellar cast makes this even more exciting.
Luckily, the wait for VIII won’t be 2 years, but only 1.5, as it is coming out May of 2017. However.. the wait for IX will be a full 2 years after VIII…..
Snoke, Kylo and Hux already are an amazing team! With Del Toro joining them, there will be no stopping them! <3
REMINDER: Adam Driver will be hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend, on January 16, 2016. Hopefully he will do a TFA sketch.
My way out there wacky prediction. Benicio Del Toro is playing King Prana.
That seems likely. I don’t think he will play a sith or something like that, I rather see him as a mob boss type character
And just have said it first..Paul Dano will get a role in episode 8. Wait and see
Then I predict Jake Johnson in Colin Trevorrow’s Episode IX..
He was awesome in Sicario. I still hope he gets back into real fighting shape like Hamill though if he’s going to be going up against someone half his age like Ridley for it to look convincing.
This guy is an amazing actor! Hope has more than a cameo. Rian is the perfect writer director for Benicio. I have high hopes!~
I think so too! Since King Prana is said to be a collector of exotic creatures like the Collector in GOTG which was also played by BDT
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I think he is playing King Prana
There is another possibility. He could be playing Grand Admiral Thrawn. Rumor is that Thrawn will be feature in an upcoming episode of Rebels. Bringing him into the Disney canon.