Benicio Del Toro Has Been Offered a Star Wars Villain Role Again

Marvel Studios

I hear they call him Franky Four Fingers because of an accident with a crossguard lightsaber. But he’ll still flip ya for real using the Force. Call him Darth Guevara.

Here’s to having fun with the idea of Benicio Del Toro joining the Star Wars franchise for an undisclosed villain role. The Wrap reports the Oscar-winning actor has been offered the baddie gig for Star Wars Episode VIII, but it’s early so he could very well pass on it. He was also previously offered the villain role in Star Trek Into Darkness (Benedict Cumberbatch took on the part, which turned out to be Khan) and declined allegedly because of the money. Meanwhile, according to others, Del Toro isn’t first choice for this new character, as Joaquin Phoenix was already offered it and he passed.

This could be a bit of make-up for Del Toro, who was cast as another Star Wars villain back in the day. He was to play Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, but after George Lucas cut the role and dialogue down, the actor left the prequel. For his benefit, possibly, and maybe even for the fans, given that Ray Park’s performance with a double-bladed lightsaber as the red-faced Sith Lord (with Del Toro’s Guardians of the Galaxy co-star Peter Serafinowicz doing the villain’s voice) is one of their few positives with that movie.

Del Toro has played villainous roles since his start, appearing as bad guys on Miami Vice and then notably breaking out on the big screen as the Bond henchman Daro in License to Kill. In a 2012 interview with GQ, he listed a number of his favorite villains (sorry, Darth Vader isn’t among them) and explained what he’s always liked about playing baddies: “They are meaty roles for the most part. With the bad guy you have more freedom to experiment and go further out than with a good guy. I think a good guy’s role has its perimeter marked, in a way.”

Star Wars Episode VIII will be written and directed by Rian Johnson and is due in theaters on May 26, 2017.

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