We are only a month away from the release ofRogue One: A Star Wars Story. That will dominate the galaxy far far away conversation for a while, but there is still a ton of desire for information onStar Wars 8. A title would be nice! But since we don’t have that yet, we will have to settle for these new details regardingBenicio Del ToroandLaura Dern’s characters.
Fan siteMaking Star Warsrecently shared some details on the new cast members joiningDaisy RidleyandJohn BoyegainStar Wars 8. These are unconfirmed details, but Making Star Wars has a very solid track record when it comes to these reports, so there is a good chance these are at least close to the mark in terms of how true they are. First up, they are describingBenicio Del Toroas a “man in black,” because he dresses in all black and is considered to be dangerous, but not necessarily a bad guy. He has been compared to Lando Calrissian, but the report notes that some other details they can’t yet reveal make it clear that the two characters are not as similar as they may seem. He also may be the proprietor of some sort of space casino, which could be fun.
There has been some speculation thatLaura Dern’s character may be playing Rey’s mom. This new information doesn’t necessarily rule that out, but it certainly doesn’t lend any more credibility to that rumor. She will reportedly be playing a “bombastic” character with a unique look. She is rumored to be connected to a character with purple hair from a set photo that leaked quite some time ago. Here is how Making Star Wars describes her.
“She is very aristocratic and fancy in a way we haven’t really seen in Star Wars before. Her look is unique. Someone compared her design to The Hunger Games-meets-Star Wars. Dern wears a “fancy” dress and her hair is like something out of the prequels. The biggest defining detail of this new character played by Laura Dern is that she has pink hair inStar Wars: Episode 8.”
Any prequel comparisons are likely to make fans a bit nervous, but this at least appears to be in look only. The report also included a little bit of new info onKelly Marie Tran’s character, otherwise known as the girl who was riding on that space horse from that set photo a while back. According to the report, she will be tangled up with Finn and is sort of the opposite ofLaura Dernaesthetically speaking. She is described as “normal” looking with a “cool situation,” whatever that means.
Disney purchased all of Lucasfilm back in 2012 for more than $4 billion, primarily so that they could make a ton ofnew Star Wars moviesover the next who knows how many years. In the four years since the studio made the purchase, we have seen only one new movie in the form ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens, butRogue One: A Star Wars Storyis coming down the pipe very soon. Those movies are making it clear that a big focus will be on new characters to help carry the franchise into the future as opposed to relying on legacy characters likeLuke Skywalkerand Han Solo. Not to say thatLaura Dern,Kelly Marie TranandBenicio Del Toroare going to be massive characters, but they are new.
At the moment, little is known aboutRian Johnson’s follow up toStar Wars: The Force Awakens. We haven’t even been given an official title yet, so even little details like this are welcomed. Disney is clearly focusing heavily onRogue One: A Star Wars Storyright now, so it seems like we will be learning a lot Wars: Episode VIIIafter that movie hits theaters. Maybe we will even see a teaser before Rogue One? We’ll have to wait and see.Star Wars: Episode VIIIis set for release onDecember 15, 2017.
