If you thought the wee island looked good in 'The Force Awakens', you ain't seen nothing yet.
With today's official announcement from Star Wars HQ that Episode VIII has commenced principal photography in London's Pinewood Studios comes a slew of casting information as well as some very pretty shots of Skellig Michael in a short video that is sure to get you all excited all over again. Mild spoilers ahead.
Per the official statement:
Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is written and directed by Rian Johnson and continues the storylines introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, welcomes back cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis. New cast members will include Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro, Academy Award nominee Laura Dern, and talented newcomer Kelly Marie Tran.
So we're guessing that Maz Kanata survived the attack that destroyed her cantina/base in 'The Force Awakens' if she's still listed above (unless she'll be appearing in some flashbacks for Luke) but the big surprises are Laura Dern in an as-of-yet undisclosed role and Benicio Del Toro also, who has been rumoured to be playing a villain. Kelly Marie Tran's role is also a complete mystery, but if her newcomer status leads to anything like that of Ridley and Boyega, we'd say she's in for a good thing.
Star Wars: Episode VIII doesn't hit our screens until December 15th, 2017 but we're fairly sure it's going to be just as epic as Episode VII. And sure isn't Skellig Michael looking well? Great weather so they had that day apparently.
Via Star Wars