Filming has wrapped on Star Wars: Episode IX. The final installment in the Skywalker Saga is set to be the return of J.J. Abrams after he directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. Just like his prior film in the galaxy far, far away, the production has been shrouded in secrecy ever since Abrams announced it had officially begun.
Production on Star Wars 9 has continued for more than five months and has seen the crew journey all over the world to do so. The bulk of filming took place at Pinewood Studios UK, but there was also an extended stay near Jordan that reportedly featured most of the main cast members like Daisy Ridley. Although there have been a few leaks from the set, they haven’t given that much away about the movie and fans have largely expected that no official news on the movie will arrive until filming came to a close. Prior reports stated that production would end in February of this year and that is now confirmed to be true.
Abrams confirmed on Twitter today that filming has wrapped on Star Wars 9. In celebration of the final day of production, he also shared a photo of Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac and said, “It feels impossible, but today wrapped photography on Episode IX. There is no adequate way to thank this truly magical crew and cast. I’m forever indebted to you all.” For his part, Boyega then shared the photo on Instagram, mentioning this is “the end to a chapter of my life that I couldn’t be more thankful for. What a process! It really has been a joy to be in these movies surrounded by amazing people.”
Additionally, other crew members confirmed the news earlier. Adam Driver’s makeup artist Amy Byrne shared a look at her station on Instagram that confirmed she and Adam Driver are now done filming. However, she’s since deleted her post. Hair and makeup artist Flora Moody also celebrated the last day of filming through her Instagram Story. StarWarsNewsNet also captured a look at Bonny Monger’s Instagram story that is no longer available, which showed cupcakes with “IX” markings in the icing, although her role in Star Wars 9’s crew is not clear.
Now that filming on Star Wars 9 is done, all of the attention will turn to a possible title reveal. For the last two Star Wars films, Lucasfilm has announced the title of the movie with the official announcement that production is done. This happened through a simple tweet by the Star Wars account in November 2014 to confirm Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ title, while StarWars.com published an actual article in January of 2017 announcing Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Abrams’ post did not reveal the title, so it may be up to a future Lucasfilm post to announce Star Wars 9’s official title too.
But, even if the title doesn’t come today to give fans the news they desperately want, this could very well mark the last day many of these actors get to be part of a Star Wars production. There is no guarantee that Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, or Poe Dameron’s stories will continue on after this movie, so this may be a bittersweet moment for them, as could be the moment that Abrams photographed. Anthony Daniels recently wrapped as C-3PO and hasn’t stopped confusing fans with mysterious tweets since. Whether this is the end for them or they return in future films, anticipation is high to see how Star Wars: Episode IX concludes this story that is over 40 years in the making.
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Sources: J.J. Abrams, Amy Byrne, Flora Moody, SWNN
- Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker Release Date: 2019-12-20
