‘Star Wars 8’ begins filming as ‘Star Wars 9’ beginning ‘production’
Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that filming on Star Wars: Episode VIII is now underway with writer/director Rian Johnson (Looper), presumably in London where Star Wars has its soundstage base of operations.
“There is no better way to propel this franchise into the future than producing quality products. Filming of Star Wars: Episode VIII, the next chapter of the legendary saga, has just commenced and it will be in theaters December 2017. And production of Episode IX, a 2019 release, has also begun.”
Cameras for Episode VIII actually began rolling last fall, as Johnson and Mark Hamill filmed at the Irish location of Skellig Michael, glimpsed at the very end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Fans may be questioning what Iger means by “production of Episode IX” given that director Colin Trevorrow’s project is far from starting filming. It’s possible Iger meant that the planning and conceptualizing of Episode IX has begun, which is taking place while Trevorrow is in post-production on his next film The Book of Henry.
The only actors fans know are returning are John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie, and Hamill, and while we can assume that Carrie Fisher, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and Andy Serkis are all back, Disney has yet to officially announce the entire lineup.
We also don’t know which new actors will be added to the mix, with names like Benicio Del Toro and Gugu Mbatha-Raw surfacing over the past few months.
Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars release schedule thus far:
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – December 16, 2016
- Star Wars: Episode VIII – December 15, 2017
- Untitled Han Solo Star Wars Anthology Film – May 25, 2018
- Star Wars: Episode IX – 2019