Oscar-winning actor Benicio Del Toro came on board for a role in Star Wars: The Last Jedi for its director Rian Johnson.
“[Johnson] called me up and wanted to talk to me about a character. I knew his work, so just the fact that I’d get a chance to meet with a filmmaker like him, but then on top of that for a Star Wars film, was interesting to me,” Del Toro said in a statement.
Going by the nickname DJ in the movie, Johnson teased that Del Toro’s character will have a huge role in the battle between the First Order and the Resistance in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
“He didn’t say anything about what this character was. We talked about movies, my background, just casual. Then, I got the script. I read it, and the script is very cool. The character is also very cool,” Del Toro added.
Recalling his memories with the franchise, which began in began in 1977, Del Toro said that he still has a booklet for the first movie.
“I remember that I was in New York City in the summer of 1977. I remember being at a restaurant and a stranger came over to the table and handed me a little booklet of a movie he had just seen. It had just opened. It was Star Wars. He told me that I have to see this movie. That was my introduction to Star Wars. I think I still have that book,” said the Escobar: Paradise Lost star.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi also features Mark Hamill, late actress Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran and Laura Dern.
The film will close the Dubai International Film Festival on December 13, and will release in UAE cinemas on December 14.