Benicio Del Toro confirms villainous role in Star Wars Episode VIII

Filming starts in March

Hot off the toy reveal for Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Puerto Rican actor and producer Benicio Del Toro (A Perfect Day, Guardians of the Galaxy) revealed more of his role in Star Wars: Episode VIII.

Speaking in an interview at rac1.org, the actor referred to his role in Episode VIII as "like the villain," though there appears to have been some hesitance (or confusion) on his part. StarWars7News.com has a translated transcript of the interview from one of its members, along with some clarification of what Del Toro possibly meant.

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*

As the StarWars7News member explains, how Del Toro described the role is a bit odd because he says "es como el villano," which is "he is like the villain." If he was sure of his character's role, it's likely he would've said "es el villano," or "he is the villain."

It's possible Del Toro doesn't completely know all of the details of his character just yet. We know how Disney and Lucasfilm like to play their cards close to their chest. Just look at how they are marketing The Force Awakens. 

Star Wars: Episode VIII will be directed by Rian Johnson (Looper) and is set to release on May 26, 2017.