Though it may not hold the same stature as, say, Tatooine, the sun-scorched planet of Jakku is still of great significance to the ever-evolving Star Wars universe.
First introduced via J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens two years ago, Jakku is best known as the dusty home of Rey, Daisy Ridley’s Jedi-in-training who will be spearheading the Resistance when The Last Jedi releases in December. However, before reluctantly leaving the nest to wage war against the First Order, Ridley’s protagonist spent her days with one eye on the sky in the hope that her parents, whose identity remains a total mystery, would return to Jakku.
And though the jury’s still out on that one, new details relayed by Making Star Wars suggest Star Wars: Episode IX will pay a visit to Rey’s far-flung home.
Word comes by way of the Everything Geek Podcast, after it conducted an interview with Mel Pickup and DJ Mark Pickup, the latter of whom played one of Jakku’s many scavengers for The Force Awakens. When pressed about a potential return to the Star Wars universe, Mark Pickup hinted that he expects to be on set for Episode IX in January to film scenes in Abu Dhabi, which doubled for Jakku during the production of J.J. Abrams’ franchise revival. It’s by no means a sure thing, but it does present some food for thought.
Star Wars: Episode IX is currently scheduled for a release on May 24th, 2019. Long before Colin Trevorrow brings the curtain down on this current Skywalker-centric trilogy, The Last Jedi will hit theaters on December 15th of this year. There’s also Ron Howard’s Han Solo spinoff (May 25th, 2018) and the recently-announced Obi-Wan anthology pic, though the latter project is still in the process of putting together a script. Stay tuned to WGTC for more.
