Will Benicio del Toro Play the STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII Villain?

Remember all the casting rumors that swirled around the Internet back when Star Wars: The Force Awakens was still Star Wars: Episode VII? In the weeks and months before Lucasfilm officially announced the movie's cast, you couldn't call yourself an actor in Hollywood if your name wasn't being tossed around the latest Star Wars movie.

The Star Wars casting rumor mill has moved on to Star Wars: Episode VIII, with a big possible scoop hitting the Internet on Monday: Benicio del Toro has been offered the villain role.

According to TheWrap, the offer has been made to Del Toro but the process is still in the "very early stages." If you'll recall all the casting news for The Force Awakens, there were several actors who were allegedly in talks for the movie but didn't make the final roster. Benedict Cumberbatch, anyone?

Variety reports that Lucasfilm has also met with Joaquin Phoenix for this role in director Rian Johnson's film, but after the exhausting casting process that saw Phoenix flirt with starring in Doctor Strange for Disney/Marvel Studios, I highly doubt that the actor would sign on for a franchise like Star Wars.

We're expecting Star Wars: The Force Awakens stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac to return for Episode VIII, but there hasn't been any confirmation that Adam Driver will be back as the villainous Kylo Ren. Hopefully Kylo Ren will return for the next Star Wars movie. Having three distinct villains in the prequels made sense because together they foreshadowed what Darth Vader would eventually become (Darth Maul the warrior, Count Dooku the fallen Jedi and General Grievous the machine).

For the new movies, I really want a great villain who's story stretches across the trilogy. The Force Awakens has Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) — will they all survive to fight the Resistance in Episode VIII? How will the character Del Toro has an offer to play fit in with these characters?

Star Wars: Episode VIII hits theaters on May 26, 2017. We'll surely know more before then.