Its release date may have just been pushed back, but production on the next proper Star Wars installment has gotten underway only a few weeks after originally scheduled. During an earnings call with investors (via EW), Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that filming on Star Wars: Episode VIII is now underway with writer/director Rian Johnson, presumably in London where Star Wars has its soundstage base of operations.
Cameras for Episode VIII actually began rolling last fall, as Johnson and Mark Hamill ventured to the Irish location of Skellig Michael, glimpsed at the very end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They no doubt wanted to grab the necessary footage to pick up after the events of The Force Awakens before the weather took a sharp turn into winter, so they took part in what are called “pre-shoots,” or bits of photography done before principal photography has actually begun. Continue reading