Benicio Del Toro Finally Confirms Villain Role in Star Wars Episode VIII, Reveals Production Start Date

"Star Wars is coming up, we will see how that turns out. I think we start shooting in March."

"Ehhh, the thing is, they don't let me talk too much about it. I'm like the villain. But we'll see."

The casting for the as-yet-untitled Star Wars Episode VIII is well underway, and rumors have been flying for months that the legendary Benicio Del Toro will play the antagonist. In a recent interview with Rac 1 (via Slashfilm), Del Toro officially confirmed his role, and as a bonus, revealed when the film starts shooting:He predictably stayed mum on the details of his role for fear of incurring the wrath of Disney, but he did confirm that he will play a villain:Since he remains vague, we still don't know if the rumors that he plays the primary antagonist are true. If they are, then that would have significant implications for Kylo Ren's fate in The Force Awakens, as it would make it more likely that he will go the way of Darth Maul and be a one-off. We kind of hope that's not the case, as we are already intrigued by Adam Driver's Darth Vader wannabe , but we are excited to see Del Toro join the Star Wars franchise.Episode VIII is also casting a new female lead, with a (wonderful) shortlist of Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany, Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl's Olivia Cooke. Any one of these actresses would likely be great choices; Cooke has received rave reviews for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Gina Rodriguez has been a breakout star on Jane the Virgin, and we all know how amazing Tatiana Maslany is. It would be great to see Rodriguez get it, both because she's a great actor and because we need more diversity in the Star Wars franchise, but Tatiana Maslany is woefully unsung and she lost the Rogue One role to Felicity Jones, so it would seem that she's due.Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters on December 18, while Rogue One comes out on December 16, 2016, and Episode VIII comes out on May 26, 2017.