Benicio Del Toro confirms talks to play “Star Wars: Episode VIII” villainAugust 15, 2015 - 11:01 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Benicio Del Toro has confirmed he’s in talks to play the villain in “Star Wars: Episode VIII,” telling Entertainment Tonight that “it looks like it’s gonna happen, so I’m very excited,” The Wrap said. News of Del Toro’s potential casting traveled across the galaxy last month after TheWrap broke the story that the Oscar-winning “Traffic” star had the coveted offer from Disney and Lucasfilm. Del Toro teased his involvement with “Star Wars: Episode VIII” at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Grants Banquet Thursday, August 13 where he was asked about the project on the red carpet. “I can’t tell you much about it but I think that it might happen. It looks like it’s gonna happen, so I’m very excited. I can’t talk too much about it. The script is hard to get. They told me they’ll cut my finger if I talk about it,” Del Toro said. “I saw the original one when it came out and it marked me. I was impressed by the film and by the characters and with the story and the message.” A representative for Disney/Lucasfilm had no comment. Rian Johnson is directing “Star Wars: Episode VIII,” which is expected to start shooting early next year in advance of a May 26, 2017 release date. Ram Bergman is producing the film with Lucasfilm’s Kathy Kennedy. Del Toro is already a member of the Disney family, having played a small but memorable role as The Collector in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Del Toro will soon be seen alongside Emily Blunt in Denis Villeneuve’s crime drama “Sicario” and in an untitled Terrence Malick movie. He’s also set to star opposite Idris Elba in Harmony Korine’s “The Trap.” Top stories Ara Aivazian said Azerbaijan continues the traditions of Turkey after seizing territories and forced Armenians out. The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. Partner news | Russia sends note of protest to Armenia over envoy’s trip to Ukraine’s Bucha Russia has sent a note of protest to Armenia over the visit of Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan to Bucha. Armenia: Protesters march to parliament, some spend the night on street The protesters did not disperse despite heavy rain that began at around 2 a.m. local time. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. |