Benicio Del Toro Backtracks On Star Wars 8 Rumour

‘Star Wars 8’ actor Benicio Del Toro might not be the film’s villain after all… at least, according to the man himself.

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the 48-year-old actor explained that he doesn’t know if his character is a villain… and the rumours might be a bit off the mark.

“I don’t know if he’s a villain,” said Del Toro. “People are saying that, but it’s like they read a different script than I read.”

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“It’s nice to keep people in the dark, a little bit of mystery is good,” he added. “If they want to believe it’s the villain, then good.”

But that’s not exactly what he was saying just a few weeks ago…

“Star Wars is coming up, we will see how that turns out,” he told Spanish radio station RAC 1. “I think we start shooting in March,“ he continued. “The thing is, they don’t let me talk too much about it. I’m like the villain. But we’ll see.”

Of course, Del Toro has been rumoured to play the ‘Star Wars 8’ villain for some time, ever since The Wrap broke the initial news that he was attached to a role in the upcoming sequel.

But have his rather honest answers gotten Del Toro in trouble?

It certainly looks as though he’s trying to backtrack on these rumours… perhaps after a bit of a telling off from Disney. But perhaps it’s even more subtle than that.

It’s no secret that ‘Star Wars’ is based around the battle between good and evil, the Light and the Dark Side. And we’ve become rather accustomed to these black and white character types.

But what if Benicio Del Toro’s ‘Star Wars 8’ villain is a little more subtle?

In the ‘Star Wars’ prequels, we watched Senator Palpatine’s rise to power as he developed from a seemingly humble Senator into the leader of the Galactic Empire. But even then, we all knew where that storyline was heading.

What if the ‘Star Wars’ sequels feature a good guy turned bad? Or a villain so morally grey that we don’t really know whose side he’s on?

Perhaps that’s what Del Toro means… or perhaps he’s just realised that he’s said too much. Either way, for now we’ll have to wait and see.

‘Star Wars: Episode 8’ heads to cinemas on 26 May 2017.

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Picture Credit: Lucasfilm, WENN