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J.J Abrams will be returning to a galaxy far, far away faster than the Falcon can make the Kessel Run, as filming for Star Wars: Episode IX has been revealed to begin on August 1st at London’s Pinewood Studios. Abrams penned the screenplay for the final installment of the Skywalker Saga with the help of Chris Terrio.
The cast will bring back Daisy Ridley as Rey, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, John Boyega as Finn amonst other favorites such as Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Billie Lourd, and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca. Naomi Ackie will be joining the seasoned cast along with Richard E. Grant. To fan acclaim, Mark Hamill will be returning along with Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams as the suave and classy Lando Calrissian.
Leia will also live on, as the crew will be using previously unreleased footage of Carrier from Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. “We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” says Abrams. “Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.”
The legendary composer, John Williams, will be returning to score the film, bringing the Skywalker story to a close. Star Wars: Episode IX will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Michelle Rejwan, and executive produced by Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin. The crew includes Dan Mindel (Director of Photography), Rick Carter and Kevin Jenkins (Co-Production Designers), Michael Kaplan (Costume Designer), Neal Scanlan (Creature and Droid FX), Maryann Brandon and Stefan Grube (Editors), Roger Guyett (VFX Supervisor), Tommy Gormley (1st AD), and Victoria Mahoney (2nd Unit Director).
The film will blast onto the big screen in December of 2019. No further details have been provided for other projects, such as Rian Johnson’s untitled Star Wars trilogy. Though fans did get the opportunity to learn about the revival of the popular animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The series was announced to return at this year’s San Diego Comic Con in honor of the show’s 10th anniversary.
Stay tuned for more details and may the Force be with you!
