Star Wars Episode 8 to Start Production Later This Month

Production on Star Wars Episode 8 will begin later this month. The movie is to start shooting on an Irish location already filmed for the upcoming Episode 7: The Force Awakens.

JJ Abrams used the tiny island of Skellig Michael as a location when making Episode 7, and now director Rian Johnson will kick off production on the next part of the Star Wars saga in the same place. The news was initially announced by Irish news channel RTE, with Entertainment Weekly subsequently confirming that this was indeed the start of Episode 8's production, rather than last-minute reshoots on Episode 7 as initially thought.

Plans to film again at Skellig have caused some concern over the environmental cost of a large film crew spending time at the location. In particular, worries about the impact of helicopters on the flight patterns of local aviation have prompted Irish Arts Minister Heather Humphreys to defend her decision to allow Lucasfilm to return there.

In a statement, she said: "Specialist staff from my Department have been in discussions with Lucasfilm since March of this year in relation to a limited amount of filming, expected to last two to four days. Based on the scientific evidence available to me, I am satisfied that what is being proposed by Lucasfilm will not adversely impact the integrity of the Special Protection Area on Sceilg Mhichíl".

Last week, it was confirmed that Benicio Del Toro would play a villainous role in the film, which is due for release in May 2017.

As for Episode 9, although it is still four years away from release, yesterday director Colin Trevorrow teased an image on Twitter, implying that pre-production was also underway on the final part of the next Star Wars trilogy:

Trevorrow was announced as director of Episode 9 at the D23 expo in August. This year, he became one of the most successful directors of all time, as his dinosaur blockbuster Jurassic World became the third highest earner in film history.