Star Wars: Episode VIII announces cast including Benicio Del Toro and Laura Dern

Mark Hamill as Luke SkywalkerStar Wars/Disney

Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern and newcomer Kelly Marie Tran have been added to the cast of Star Wars: Episode VIII.

Disney and Lucasfilm made the announcement on Monday alongside a new video on the franchise's Facebook page, which picks up where the last movie left off.

They join Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill and director Rian Johnson.

The new instalment began shooting at London's Pinewood Studio on Monday.

Here's the video which got everyone very excited.

It starts from the first meeting of Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on the planet of Ahch-To, with Rey offering him his old lightsaber.

It appears to have been filmed at the same time as the scenes for Episode VII, on the island of Skellig Michael, off the coast of County Kerry, Ireland.

This is the official statement that announced the news.

What do we know about the latest cast additions?

Benicio Del Toro

Getty Images

Del Toro has hinted that he would be starring in the new movie for months

  • Del Toro is from Puerto Rico and won an Oscar, Golden Globe and Bafta for his performance in Traffic, back in 2000.

  • He was nominated for a Bafta on Sunday night for his role in Sicario.

  • You've probably seen him in The Usual Suspects, Snatch and Sin City.

  • He's confirmed that he will be playing a baddie in the new movie.

Laura Dern

AP

Dern was recently confirmed to be starring in David Lynch's upcoming revival of cult television series Twin Peaks

  • Laura Dern is a double Oscar nominee. She was nominated last year for her performance alongside Reese Witherspoon in Wild.

  • She's most famous for starring in Jurassic Park back in 1993.

  • She was on the TV in the HBO comedy Enlightened from 2011-13 and won a Golden Globe.

  • She's the daughter of actress Diane Ladd and actor Bruce Dern, who was in The Hateful Eight and Nebraska.

  • There's been no hint as to what Dern's role will be.

Kelly Marie Tran

Kelly Marie Tran is mentioned in this tweet.

  • The franchise's official statement describes Tran as a "talented newcomer".

  • She's from San Diego and graduated from UCLA.

  • She has appeared in a number of CollegeHumour videos and small roles in TV series like About A Boy.

  • You can see her next in XoXo, an indie romantic comedy coming up on Netflix.

Star Wars: Episode VIII is scheduled for release on 15 December 2017.

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