New Star Wars: Episode IX Set Photo Points To Major Jedi Plot Point

Update: We’ve since been informed that Dan Mindel’s latest Instagram post is actually from John Carter, NOT Star Wars: Episode IX. We apologize for any confusion caused. 

Original Story: With filming on Star Wars: Episode IX now in full swing, the franchise’s impassioned fanbase have been on the lookout for any potential story clues pertaining to Lucasfilm’s mysterious sequel.

That means trawling through social media and online forums in the hope that someone – anyone – has insider information about the untitled threequel, and while it’s unlikely to bring the Internet to a standstill anytime soon, a new and potentially fascinating story clue has emerged via Instagram, where DP Dan Mindel, a long-time J.J. Abrams collaborator from the early days of Star Trek, posted the following photo.

To add some context, it appears this Episode IX set pic was captured on location in Pinewood Studios, where Abrams and his team are shooting some of the film’s interior scenes, along with those CG-heavy action sequences involving Rey, Finn and the rest of the gang.

Via Instagram:

Space lights ….. unbeatable quality source of ambient lighting… 6000 watts 6 lamps or 3000 watts 3 lamps!

Lean a little bit closer, though, and you’ll notice that the Star Wars: Episode IX crew have built a series of alien (?) archways under those ceiling lights, while the wall-to-wall green screen strongly suggests that this scene will whisk viewers off to some far-flung planet in the Star Wars universe.

As for those archways, they appear to feature some sort of mosaic which may or may not be a reference to Ahch-To, home of the first Jedi Temple, and the fabled Prime Jedi, who brought about the formation of the Jedi Order all those years ago. A number of Instagram users believe this artwork depicts the Prime Jedi meditating in isolation, but we can’t be too sure.

Only when Star Wars: Episode IX launches into theaters late next year will we have a better understanding of what to expect from Abrams’ threequel and its super-secret story.