Star Wars: The Force Awakens is still 3 months away from release, but Disney and Lucasfilm are wasting no time getting to work on the next installment of their new trilogy, as it’s being reported that director Rian Johnson and his crew are off to the Emerald isle to commence principal photography on the still untitled Episode VIII.
Because their destination is the island of Skellig Michael off the Southern coast of Ireland, it was initially reported that the plan was to conduct reshoots for The Force Awakens, which filmed in that location last year. Apparently, the confusion stemmed from Lucasfilm not wanting to reveal the real title of Episode VII, and referring to it only as “Star Wars”; but EW was able to confirm that it was actually the follow-up film, and made the correction.
It’s interesting that Episode VIII will return to that island, as it’s rumored to double for the place Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is discovered after a long exile – self imposed or otherwise – by Daisy Ridley’s character, Rey, in The Force Awakens. What could possibly bring them back there? Or is it simply that Luke never left, perhaps?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives in theaters December 18, 2015, while Star Wars: Episode VIII is set for a 2017 release.
