Disney and Lucasfilm have reportedly offered a key role to Benicio Del Toro for the actor to make a special appearance in the upcoming ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII,’ as claimed by The Wrap.
If the 48-year-old actor accepts the role, he is set to take play the main villain in the first post-‘Force Awakens’ saga movie. Currently, there are no official details about the character that he will be portraying.
This is not the first time that the ‘Escobar: Paradise Lost’ star has been offered an antagonist role in a popular sci-fi movie franchise.
In 2011, Del Toro was reportedly approached by director J.J. Abrams to take on the role of the main villain in ‘Star Trek: Into Darkness,’ a role that was later offered to Khan Noonien Singh.
Unfortunately, the actor passed on the opportunity and, consequently, the production ended up going after ‘Sherlock’ star Benedict Cumberbatch.
Looking into such circumstances, if ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ has offered a key role to the ‘Wolfman’ star, it will not necessarily lead to the actor’s acceptance of the task.
Meanwhile, the highly-anticipated ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ will be hitting cinemas on Dec. 18, while the Gareth Edwards-helmed ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ is yet to announce the start of its filming, although the stand-alone film is already set for an official premiere on Dec. 16, 2016.
As for Rian Johnson's untitled ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII,’ production on the movie will reportedly begin early next year in time for the sci-fi film’s official release on May 26, 2017.
Earlier this year, during the annual celebration of the movie’s franchise created by George Lucas, it was revealed that production of ‘Episode VIII’ will be carried out in the United Kingdom, marking it as the fourth ‘Star Wars’ installment to be filmed in the said country.
According to George Osborne, Lucasfilm is set to allocate an estimated £100m for the movie, thereby helping generate at least 3,000 job opportunities.
“This investment by Lucasfilm … is a huge vote of confidence in all elements of movie-making in Britain – from the visual effects designers to the lighting technicians and from the carpenters to the costume designers,” the Chancellor of Exchequer explained.
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy also released an official statement about filming overseas, saying: “We are looking forward to continuing the new generation of ‘Star Wars’ movies in the UK.”
