While the latest Star Wars episodes have contained plenty of callbacks to the Original Trilogy – be it in familiar characters, or in the case of The Force Awakens, familiar plot details – these new movies have so far stayed away from from the planetary regions of the older adventures. But going by a new report on the filming locations for Star Wars: Episode IX, that could be about to change.
According to Star Wars News Net, the upcoming trilogy-closer will be shooting scenes in Ireland, Italy and California. Though Ireland could signal a return to Ahch-To and Italy has previously provided the setting for Naboo, California has hosted a variety of planets from episodes IV-VI, including Tatooine and Endor.
Obviously all of these regions could be used for far more than these pre-established planets, but it’s pretty plausible that this climactic entry in the current trilogy would bring in a few well-known locations to really emphasize the scale and history of this saga.
To add a couple more potential destinations to the list, new set photos show some filming taking place in the desert of Wadi Rum, Jordan. Though this barren land is looking an awful lot like Jakku, it also happens to be the same setting as the Jedha scenes in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
While we’re still awaiting confirmation on these various inclusions, we do know that next year’s release will at least get on viewers’ nostalgic sides with the return of Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian, not to mention further appearances from Mark Hamill and the late Carrie Fisher. It’s all very exciting, and we’ll see how far J.J. Abrams goes in his homages to the past when Star Wars: Episode IX comes out on December 20th, 2019.
