Filming for "Star Wars: Episode VIII" is now officially underway as Disney and Lucasfilm made the announcement on Monday, Feb. 15, with a production announcement video.
This was a surprise move from the studios given the secrecy over "The Force Awakens," but it appears that director Rian Johnson is making sure that fans keep the "Star Wars" hype alive with the clip, which shows what happened after Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) met in the last few minutes of the franchise's seventh installment.
In the 34-second clip, Luke is seen staring at Rey as she tries to hand him his lightsaber. Johnson says, "Cut, that's beautiful."
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Episode 8!" Johnson says, to loud cheers from the cast and crew.
It was reported that there will be some cast additions, namely Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro ("Traffic"), "Jurassic Park" star Laura Dern, and Kelly Marie Tran. According to Entertainment Weekly, Del Toro has confirmed that he will be playing someone who has leanings toward the Dark Side, while Dern's role is unknown at the moment. It was speculated that she might play a member of Rey's family, specifically, her mother. Meanwhile, Tran's role was also unspecified, but it's expected to be a significant one.
Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger first broke the news last week that principal photography was already underway.
On Tuesday, actor John Boyega took to Twitter to give a filming update, tweeting, "First day on Star Wars 8 complete! We must face them! We must fight them!"
According to the official studio announcement, "Star Wars: Episode VIII" will see Rey as she takes her first steps into a larger world and will continue her epic journey with Finn (Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac), and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the continuing "Star Wars" saga.
"Star Wars: Episode VIII" is set for release on Dec. 15, 2017.
