With a couple more months to go before Star Wars: The Force Awakens lands in December and the recent kickoff of production of Rogue One, it’s now been revealed that Star Wars: Episode VIII is gearing up to begin filming at the end of this month. The film is set to start in southern Ireland on the island of Skellig Michael. The film has a planned May 26th, 2017 release for it and with extensive special effects work involved it makes sense that they’re starting earlier and while the actors that will be involved are very fresh and immersed in the work – and haven’t been exposed to the heavy pressures of the press circuit yet and with fans. Being able to film some of it before everything hits with the box office returns and all that’s associated with it will certainly help to keep it grounded.
At this stage, there are no confirmed actors for the film, though some have said that they will be reprising their roles and that Benicio Del Toro has joined the project.
The film is being directed by Rian Johnson, who also worked on the screenplay for it.
