Star Wars Spin-Off Film Shooting Location Announced

Source: Film Dump

A galaxy far, far away is coming a bit closer to home for the second consecutive time in 2015.
Chancellor of the British Exchequer George Osborne has today announced the primary shooting location for Walt Disney Pictures' next instalment in their revived Star Wars franchise of science-fiction films. Pitched as a spin-off with a narrative which is isolated from the events of the upcoming new trilogy - Episode VII, Episode VIII and Episode IX, in case you've been living under a rock in the corner of the Mos Eisley Cantina for the past two years - the flick will be directed by Godzilla helmer Gareth Edwards and its screenplay penned by The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series' Gary Whitta.

The news that the second chapter in Disney's journey with George Lucas' iconic saga will shoot at Pinewood Studios in the UK comes off the back of Osborne's visit to the set of Episode VII (set to be released in December 2015 and also currently shooting here), after which he tweeted this message to his followers:

On set of Episode VII tonight, can announce another #StarWars film will be made in UK. A #LongTermEconomicPlan in a galaxy far far away
— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) June 10, 2014

From the Chancellor's use of the hashtag '#LongTermEconomicPlan', we might infer that since Disney have confirmed the existence of six new Star Wars films to be released on an annual basis from 2015, the plan is for the vast majority of these audacious motion pictures to be shot here in good ol' Britannia. For now, though, it's great to hear at the very least that both Episode VII and the first spin-off film (which reportedly features the thought-dead bounty hunter Boba Fett as its protagonist) will film on our shores. May the Force be with J.J. Abrams, Gareth Edwards and co.

Star Wars Episode VII counts its midichlorians (just kidding) in cinemas worldwide on December 18th, 2015 and the franchise's first stand-alone movie will launch on December 16th, 2016.