With the Rogue One release date hurtling towards us and the end of principal photography on Star Wars: Episode 8, very little new information is seeping out about the plot of The Force Awakens sequel. But Making Star Wars has scraped together some new bits, confirmed by anonymous sources, about several characters to be introduced in 2017’s Episode 8. Both new characters sound like intriguing additions to the Star Wars universe, injecting some much-needed moral ambiguity after the stark and simplistic divide between light and dark established in The Force Awakens. Unfortunately, it comes with a price: hope you’re ready for traumatic flashbacks to Princess Amidala and her Prequel Trilogy monotony.
We’ve written previously about Star Wars: Episode 8’s return to the urban and cosmopolitan regions of the galaxy, bringing us in from the Outer Rim to the centers of power, commerce and fashion. The new set leaks introduce us to two cast members who fit right in with this new milieu.
First up is Benicio del Toro’s mysterious character, described by Making Star Wars as a “classic ‘man in black.’” While it was previously rumored that del Toro would play a villain, the new leaks suggest more of an amoral rogue character, perhaps a dangerous broker of information and influence. According to the anonymous sources, his character wears all black and may be connected to a casino infiltrated by Finn and Rey.
Making Star Wars also claims to have more information about Laura Dern’s character. Earlier Episode 8 set leaks indicated Dern may supplant General Leia’s role in the Resistance, co-opting the only rebellion against the First Order, leading Poe Dameron to set off on his own. Now we might know a little bit more about Dern’s personality and look in Episode 8. Making Star Wars describes her character as “very aristocratic and fancy,” like something out of The Hunger Games. But no matter how gaudy her dress, it’s her character’s hair that will be the real attention-grabber. It sounds like we’ve got another Princess Amidala giant hair situation on our hands, except electric pink this time.
Since these leaks mostly deal with appearances, rather than Star Wars: Episode 8 plot points, they have a high probability of accuracy. Any one of the hundreds of people on a film set could have been the source, rather than the much narrower band of people with detailed knowledge of the plot.
We’ll learn how all of this fits together on Dec. 15, 2017, when Star Wars: Episode VIII hits theaters.
