As various stories relayed from the set of Avengers: Endgame make clear, Disney can get pretty controlling in their spoiler security measures, and the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX is no exception, with actor Richard E. Grant recently explaining the production’s excessive procedures for keeping details under wraps.
Speaking to The One Show, the actor explained that the cast is only allowed to see a full script under heavily monitored circumstances.
“It’s extraordinary,” he said. “They don’t give you a script, you have to go to a room where there are bodyguards outside, closed-circuit television cameras, and it’s printed on crimson pages so you can’t photograph it. You have to read it in there, and then leave.”
Mark Hamill also reflected on the film’s crimson script last month, lamenting how the tint gave him a headache to read. Regardless, the actors are at least given the relevant pages to carry with them for each day of shooting, though even this rare case of leniency comes with a few complications, with Grant explaining the routine as follows:
“You’re given the pages on the day that you work, and you have to sign for them and sign out for them as well”
But while it certainly sounds difficult for any script pages to ever make their way online, Grant observed that even the actors themselves need to be shielded from the public, telling The One Show:
“They give you a cloak, over your head – because apparently, they have drones going over Pinewood Studios so they try and take photographs of what people are playing.”
As over-the-top as this all sounds, the spoiler security measures have certainly done their job (for the most part), in that we still have a lot to learn about J.J. Abrams’ next film. For one thing, we’ve yet to find out who Grant’s playing, though much of the internet is understandably predicting a villainous role for the actor. For a while, there was even a rumor that he’d be bringing Star Wars Rebels fan favorite Grand Admiral Thrawn to the big screen, though he ultimately shot down the suggestion.
Regardless, we’ll see just what Lucasfim has to hide when Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.