Having already put his foot in one galaxy for Disney, taking the role of The Collector in Marvel‘s "Guardians Of The Galaxy," Benicio Del Toro might be stretching his franchise wings to another big outer space adventure.
Variety reports that the actor has been offered the villain role in Rian Johnson‘s untitled "Star Wars: Episode VIII." But he’s not the only one in the running. The trade reports that the studio had also met with Joaquin Phoenix (but don’t forget that Marvel couldn’t lure him for "Doctor Strange"). Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac are all expected to return and reprise their roles from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," and I’d imagine a few more faces as well.
No word yet on when production begins, but it seems Lucasfilm and co. are eager to get their ducks in a row early. "Star Wars: Episode VIII" arrives on May 26, 2017. Update: Phoenix has already passed.
FREE TWITTER SCOOP: Joaquin Phoenix passed on the role offered to Benicio in STAR WARS: EP 8. So Joaquin passed on Marvel & Star Wars. Smh.
— Umberto Gonzalez (@elmayimbe) July 21, 2015
if he didn\’t want to play the villain in Star Trek he is hardly gonna play the villain in Star Wars
Ric
They\’ve literally ALREADY said Joaquin PHoenix turned down the role that Del Toro i now been offered. So how does this mean that Phoenix is "in the mix"? Either you can\’t read or are deliberately spreading misinformation to get your site clicks. Why should we take this site seriously at all?
Ric