‘The Last Jedi’ Details Shed Light on Benicio Del Toro’s Shady New ‘Star Wars’ Character
Like you, we’re pretty anxious to see our favorites from The Force Awakens back on the big screen this December, but we’re just as excited about all the new faces coming to a galaxy far, far away. That includes Star Wars newcomers like Laura Dern (praise hands emoji), Kelly Marie Tran and, perhaps most intriguingly, Benicio Del Toro — whose role in The Last Jedi has mostly been mysterious until now.
The first official photo of Del Toro’s character, nicknamed DJ, was released back in May as part of a Vanity Fair cover story, but little else is known about the man whom director Rian Johnson describes as “shady.” There’s been some confusion (aided by Del Toro) over whether or not DJ is a villain, but in the latest installment of their ongoing coverage of The Last Jedi, Entertainment Weekly has obtained some intel that suggests something a little more dubious.
Lucasfilm officially describes DJ as “an enigmatic figure whose tattered, threadbare clothes and lackadaisical attitude conceal a sharp mind and expert skills.” He’s also involved with a mission that takes Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) to Canto Bight, an upscale casino-esque gambling hub. According to Boyega, Finn and Rose enlist the help of DJ because they “just need a codebreaker and he’s the best in the galaxy.” DJ is what’s known as a “slicer,” which is the Star Wars version of a hacker. But what are the young Resistance fighters hoping to obtain, exactly? That part remains unclear.
Boyega says DJ is “very dodgy and only in it for financial gain,” adding that “He doesn’t fight for any side.” The way his co-stars tell it, Del Toro’s character is a strict opportunist who aligns himself not with a winning or losing team, but with whoever will pay him — not unlike his role in Guardians of the Galaxy:
He has distinct opinions. The Resistance bombs the First Order one day, the First Order bombs the Resistance on another. It’s an ongoing war that will never end. For him, he’s trying to benefit off of that — which doesn’t make him the person you want to trust.
According to Tran, Del Toro gave one hell of a convincing performance:
When I was onset with that character, I felt like there was a tiger in the room, and I always had to be watching. Like an animal, at any moment he could do something, and I didn’t know what.
Of all the new characters in The Last Jedi, DJ is probably the most interesting — though definitely not the cutest. That title obviously goes to the Porgs.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters on December 15.