Production officially kicks off on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi for J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode VII". Shooting will continue there through until the end of the month--the country is standing in for the planet of Tatooine in the film.
Sources for The National
report that sets are getting closer to being completed, with a "whole world" built on an otherworldly salt lake at one location.
A "shuttle-like" spacecraft, a large tower, a "big, centuries-old-looking market", something referred to as the "alien house", and around a dozen jet-engine powered "really fast buggies".
Two trucks full of explosives were brought to one of the sites under high security and a blast crater has been created, indicating likely either a battle or spacecraft crash plays a key part.
Technicians from the U.K. and Los Angeles are currently on the site applying the finishing touches, and members of the cast are already there practising driving the vehicles they'll be using during filming.
Original Trilogy star Mark Hamill Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker will be back.
Franchise creator George Lucas told Bloomberg Businessweek that he begun talks with original stars to have them return to for its new films -- before he had even begun the process of the ultimately $2 billion deal and sale. It's been said that Lucas' actually spent about a year planning the franchise's future before handing the reigns of Lucasfilm over to Disney.
The new cast members are John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow
as a villain character.
There is at least one more
major female role left to fill and it has been suggested Ridley is
playing the daughter of Han and Leia. That would suggest the female
role yet
to be cast is the one rumored to be a mixed-race descendant of Obi-Wan
Kenobi - a role 12 Years a Slave Best Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong'o was linked to.
Disney/Lucasfilm haven't revealed any character details at all
however, so which of the newcomers is playing which roles is all
speculation at this point.
Abrams wrote the script with Lawrence Kasdan for the film. Oscar winner Michael Arndt ("Toy Story 3," "Little Miss Sunshine") vacated his job scripting the next film--after disagreements over which characters the film will focus on.
Kasdan ("The Empire Strikes Back," "Raiders of the Lost Ark") and Simon Kinberg ("Sherlock Holmes," "X-Men: Days of Future Past")
have reportedly closed deals to pen the final two installments
of the new "Star Wars" trilogy. Kasdan and Kinberg are also
indeed writing the stand alone/origin Star Wars features. Company CEO Robert A. Iger recently revealed that the studio has three features. in the works - not two as previously indicated.
The plan is to have each of these films come out in the years when we
don't see a new episode of the saga - They would come out in 2016, 2018
and 2020. We still don't know which characters these spin-offs will
focus on. Current franchise chief, Kathleen Kennedy spoke to Yahoo about the stand-alone films saying that they will NOT affect the main narrative of the Episodes.
The series MVP composer John Williams is set to score Episode VII, Episode VIII and Episode IX.
Kasdan and Kinberg would also join the projects as producers with Kennedy.
Production will also take place through September at Pinewood Studio in England. The film has a confirmed release date of December 18, 2015
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