Disney must have liked what they saw of Benicio Del Toro as the eccentric Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy, because their keen on bringing him back for another mega-sized franchise. According to The Wrap, Del Toro has been offered what appears to be a villain role in Star Wars: Episode VIII.
Little is known about the film except that it will be written and directed by Rian Johnson (Looper), and will open on May 26th 2017. The hope is to place a big name as the bad guy, which would be different than their decision to name Adam Driver (Girls) as the villain for Star Wars: Episode VII. To that end, Lucasfilm was also eyeing Del Toro's Inherent Vice co-star Joaquin Phoenix for the same role.
As for whether or not this would conflict with Del Toro returning for a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, the actor has hinted that he may not be coming back, leaving his Disney schedule open. It's also unclear which characters from Episode VII will make the jump to Episode VIII, or possibly into Episode IX which has yet to find its director.
Next up for Del Toro is Sicario, Denis Villeneuve's drug war thriller starring Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin.
