Back in July, a report surfaced claiming that Disney and LucasFilm are in early talks with actor Benicio Del Toro to play the villain in Star Wars: Episode VIII. Last month, the actor confirmed that he is in negotiations with the studio, but he wouldn't say much more, claiming they'd "cut his finger" if he revealed any details. It seems that the actor's appendages may be in danger, since he revealed in a radio interview with the Spanish-language radio station RAC1.org that he is in fact playing the villain. Here's what he had to say, as translated by StarWars7News.com.

"Star Wars is coming up, we will see how that turns out. I think we start shooting in March. The thing is.... They don't let me talk too much about it, I'm like the villain. But we'll see."

The actor's choice of words, "like the villain," is interesting, with StarWars7News.com offering a few theories as to what this could mean. The first explanation is that his unnamed character appears to be the villain in the story, but actually isn't, or he is just trying to "discredit himself," making it unclear who he's really playing as a way to save face for the studio. The final theory is that the actor himself doesn't even know if he's the villain or not.

It's worth noting that, in our August report, the actor revealed the script is "hard to get," so the third theory may be entirely possible. It isn't even known if he has read writer-director Rian Johnson's full script yet, so it's possible that the studio could be keeping him in the dark on purpose about his character. Since the actor knows when shooting begins, it seems likely that his deal is finalized. But it isn't known when LucasFilm plans on making an official announcement.

It remains to be seen if this evil character has any ties to the First Order or characters like Kylo Ren from December's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If production does in fact start this March, then hopefully we'll finally get confirmation on casting and other story details soon. What do you think about these details? Are you glad that Benicio Del Toro is playing the villain in Star Wars 8?