Benicio Del Toro and Laura Dern Join Star Wars: Episode VIII

Via Wired.com:

WE MAY HAVE to wait a little bit longer for Star Wars: Episode VIII—last month Disney pushed the release date from next spring to December 2017—but that delay only means we’ll have more time to snap up every piece of footage and news Lucasfilm releases.

Today’s tidbit? Episode VIII, which is being directed by Rian Johnson, has added Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, and newcomer Kelly Marie Tran to its cast in as-yet-unknown parts. Del Toro most recently appeared in Denis Villeneuve’s drug-war drama Sicario and also played The Collector in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Dern’s recent highlights include Wild and Mike White’s short-lived but much-beloved HBO series Enlightened. The returning cast also lists Gwendoline Christie and Lupita Nyong’o, so fans of their characters from The Force Awakens need not worry about their uncertain fates.

Along with the casting announcement, Lucasfilm also released a short clip teasing the start of filming for Episode VIII. In the new footage, we see that the first day on set involved shooting scenes that happened right after the closing moments of J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens. (Spoiler alert!) It also has an updated, spaced-out version of a very familiar John Williams theme song, which might be the coolest part.

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