We need to talk about who Benicio del Toro is playing in Star Wars Episode VIII
We'll put it simply: is he Rey's father?
Never mind who’s the Last Jedi in Star Wars Episode VIII, a far more pressing mystery has awoken: who on Earth Jakku is Oscar-winning actor Benicio del Toro playing?
While we know the Guardians of The Galaxy star is remaining close to his acting CV by playing a villain in this year’s trip to a galaxy far far away, what we don’t know his how character fits into the larger picture of big Star Wars bads like Snoke or Kylo Ren.
However, one brilliantly named Redditor, DARTH_HODOR, poses an interesting theory: Benicio del Toro is playing Rey’s father. And his character's name? Ezra Bridger.
You know, Ezra Bridger? From Star Wars Rebels? Nope? Well, Bridger is the main character in Disney’s Star Wars TV series, the young neon-blue-eyed orphan that goes on to become a Jedi Padawan.
Ezra Bridger in Star Wars Rebels
This comes from a theory that Rebels, set a few decades before The Force Awakens, will end with Bridger joining Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy. And, as DARTH_HODOR (seriously, great name) theorises, Ezra turns to the dark side, joining forces with Snoke to manipulate the Jedi, starting with Ben Solo (Kylo Ren).
After discovering the plot, so the theory goes, Luke might then hide Rey from her true father on Jakku, and Ezra and Snoke might then destroy Skywalker's Jedi temple in retaliation. Luke would then flee Jakku and go into hiding on the big rock we see him on at the end of Episode VII.
It’s a theory that wouldn’t only tidily tie the Rebels TV show to the films, but it could also be the source of a brilliant plot turn: Rey could then join her father (and the dark side), while Kylo Ren embarks on his own redemption arc to the light side. “This would set up a fantastic finale between these two characters in Episode IX,” says Hodor.
Plus, since Rebels is set before Star Wars Episode IV, the 49-year-old del Toro could be the right age to play Bridger, who would be 51 at the time of Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
Has it all just fallen into place? Or should we heed Daisy Ridley’s warning that all the answers we need are actually hidden in The Force Awakens? Probably the latter, but we’ll be damned if we stop guessing.
