Star Wars Episode VIII Has Completed Production

The as-yet untitled ‘Star Wars Episode VIII’ has officially reached the end of its principal photography.

Director Rian Johnson broke the news, announcing via the official Star Wars Twitter page, “Final slate of the final shot. VIII is officially wrapped. Cannot wait to share it with you all!“

A 5-second video showing the final clapperboard for this shot was also included in the tweet.

Of course, Johnson and co are a very long way from being done. We still have another 17 months before ‘Episode VIII’ hits cinemas, a lengthy post-production period no doubt necessary for a feature as heavily FX-driven as it is certain to be.

(Also, given how far away the release date is, it’s pretty much a given that some level of reshoots may occur before the film hits cinemas. This is standard Hollywood practice, yet fans always seem to panic when it happens, so let’s please stay calm this time, can we?)

While his predecessor JJ Abrams was already accustomed to working at such a level (having directed ‘Mission: Impossible III’ and the first two ‘Star Trek’ reboot films), this will be new territory for Johnson, whose largest scale film to date was 2012’s ‘Looper.’

Where that understated sci-fi movie with Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt had sparse use of CGI and a reported $30 million budget, ‘Episode VIII’ will without a doubt be a considerably larger enterprise. While its budget has not been revealed, it’s safe to assume it’s a nine-figure sum.

Oscar Isaac told The LA Times earlier this year, “Rian is definitely going to places and investigating things that haven’t really been done in the ‘Star Wars’ universe.

“For me, it’s so fun getting to explore different things that I wouldn’t have expected in this universe. In some ways it feels like we’re making an independent film.”

As well as seeing the return of ‘The Force Awakens’ stars Isaac, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Gwendoline Christie, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill (who, we expect, will do more than just stand silently on one spot this time), ‘Episode VIII’ will also see the addition of Benico del Toro and Laura Dern to the ensemble.

The film opens 15 December 2017.

Picture Credit: Lucasfilm, Sony

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