Kathleen Kennedy Confirms Part of Episode VIII will be Filmed in Mexico and Reveals Two Actors who will Reprise Their Roles!
Kathleen Kennedy, Oscar Isaac and Lupita Nyong’o were in Mexico City two days ago, promoting Star Wars: The Force Awakens at a fan event. During an interview the president of Lucasfilm revealed that part of Rian Johnson’s Episode VIII will be filmed in Mexico. She also mentioned that probably a few shots from Rogue One will be filmed there as well.
Speaking to the Mexican site Excelsior, Kathleen Kennedy revealed that they will shoot a part of Episode VIII and probably some shots for Rogue One, in the outskirts of Mexico, joking that Mexico City is too modern for StarWars. She also said that Episode VIII and Rogue One will mainly be shot at Pinewood Studios, and that the Mexican locations will serve as an exterior shots.
After revealing a few days ago that Gwendoline Christie will be returning for Episode VIII, now Kennedy confirmed that Oscar Isaac and John Boyega will also appear in the movie, in the company of Benicio del Toro, who multiple times confirmed his involvement with the project. Filming for Episode VIII is expected to start at the end of January.
Also during the interview Oscar Isaac and Lupita Nyong’o prasied Kathleen Kennedy and briefly spoke about their roles without revealing anything new.
So now we know of 5 actors from The Force Awakens that are 100% certain for Episode VIII. Three of them were confirmed by Kathleen Kennedy, and two were spotted during the Skellig Michael shoot 3 months ago.
Thanks to Luis Portillo for the heads up.
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
So Kylo Ren dies?
no more like they just haven’t decided to confirm or deny his involvement in VIII, maybe it’s deliberate until TFA is showing
Yeah just like they dragged it out with Boyega. The movie is 4 days away so they’re comfortable with giving out little information like this now.
Yeah, it would be a huge mistake to announce kylo’s involvement before people could see it first
Injured maybe Dies No Way!
What made you say that? I just posted about the actors that are 100% confirmed for VIII.
I kid, I kid. 😉
So Poe and Finn live?
or Force ghosts lol
OHHHH! 😀
Nope.
Game of Thrones has changed us all.
this is interesting news.. a lot of TFA was shot on location and now she’s saying that episode VIII will be shot “mainly” at the studio. what location could the outskirts of mexico possibly serve? and what would it have in common with rogue one? so many questions!!!
Actually most of TFA was shot on the studio grounds or in the actual soundstages, other than Puzzlewood and Skellig Michael.
It was also filmed in Iceland, the English Lake District, and the Scottish Highlands.
^ and all of this.. so i would wager that MOST of tfa was shot on location, besides of course the space sequences. abu dhabi, puzzlewood, skellig michael, wales, iceland, english lake district and the scottish highlands.. that’s almost peter jackson-style location shooting.
I think plate shots mostly of those places.
um… abu dhabi= jakku? jj said they also shot in wales.. so that’s wales, abu dhabi, puzzlewood, skellig michael.. that’s a lot of location filming.
I think Rian will have more locations that have been said.
this is true..
I think he meant Puzzlewood when he said Wales, its right on the border of England and Wales…
ah, forgive my american geographical knowledge..
I visited Puzzlewood earlier this year, it is a really cool location, if you woke up there and didn’t know where you were, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in India/China/South America/African jungle/European fairy tale – it is a very strange place! I can’t wait to see how they have used it…
So I guess it’ll be like the prequels, on location for the first, pretty much studio only for the next 2.
perhaps? it seems as though they’re steering away from how the prequels were made.. but apparently rian johnson is a big fan of both the originals and prequels, so we’ll see! i have lots of faith in this.
My money’s on Cholula, home to the world’s largest pyramid in diameter. The place would make for an excellent, exotic site for a Jedi Temple or something.
There’s tons of archeological sites in Mexico that could work for SW, but the Great Pyramid of Cholula isn’t as well known as other sites such as Teotihuacan or Chichen Itza, for instance.
What about Daisy? Won’t she be back?
her and Mr. Hamill were confirmed a couple months ago
Shes already said she will be on and off the set. Shes probably going to film his scenes quickly. I don’t think she has much interaction with the other stars in Episode 8, probably just with Luke. Episode 8 might explore more into Finns story. They pretty much confirmed we wont find out much about Finn till Episodes 8 and 9
I hope not just Finn’s story…. How about Luke’s? And Poe’s? Please don’t just show Finn’s. Otherwise it will be boring.
Why would it be just Finns? From what we heard.. Luke, Finn. Poe, Phasma, and Snoke have bigger roles In Episode 8… Finn just might be more featured than Rey in Episode 8, thats all. I don’t see how it’s boring. Rey/Finn can still be centric characters and still have interesting subplots, and I’m not speaking from fact.
Her and Mark Hamill have already some filming done in Skellig for Episode 8. She mentioned in interviews she is starting school in January. Which means she will film off and on. I think she will probably film a lot more in the later months. When she reunites with John Boyega and other cast members.
Lando?
hopefully
I feel damn certain Lando will be in it
That’s probably dependent on his health. Mayhew could only do shots of Chewie sitting down, and if his appearance at Celebration this year is any indication, Williams might be in the same situation.
Sources on Mayhew?
It’s mentioned in the Entertainment Weekly coverage from a couple weeks back (among other places). Mayhew had both knees replaced a few years ago, and he also has back trouble. He can’t walk without assistance, nor can he stand for very long.
he HAS TO. i love Billy Dee so much I can’t even. not getting him on board while he’s in marvelous shape and hasn’t lost his edge like at all would be huge mistake. #bringbackLando
Oddly still not comfortable with Benicio… because he’s so Benicio lol. Super excited to see Sicario though. I think he’ll be great in that. Guess it all depends on what they have him doing.
in sicario he is amazing tho
Wonder if BDT is doing a Mo Cap creature.
It’s got to be an amazing feeling to come back to work on another Star Wars. Like a second chance to make your performance even better.
Yep, Hayden Christensen really grabbed that opportunity with both hands.
“My powers have doubled since the last time we met, Count.” – I’m surprised he didn’t defeat Dooku simply by sending him to sleep.
Everyone blames Christensen for the prequels, when it was really sub-par screenwriting. He’s pretty good in Awake. And Ewan is good in a lot of things. And so are Liam and Natalie. But everybody in the prequels has at least one cringeworthy line.
Don’t get me wrong though, I like all 6 movies.
Not really. He hasn’t done anything of merit in over a decade.
scenes in mexico for rogue one? Why not guatemala? Yavin 4?
Well all the people worried that Finn will die fighting Kylo Ren can breathe easy
Yeah but now the people that are worried about Kylo not making it to episode 8 (like myself) will be just as anxious.
Very true- we will have to wait and see with that one, but honestly I don’t see him dying. JJ is well aware of how the early deaths of Boba Fett and Darth Maul went over with fans so I doubt he will repeat that. Plus who would kill kylo ren? Even if Finn and Rey fought 2 vs 1 I doubt they could kill him. Nah, my personal theory is that the only major villian to die will be Hux when the Starkiller blows up.
Kylo doesn’t die. Read the spoiler
odd, seems a bit spoilery of KK, that’s a stack of people confirmed not to die in TFA
I dunno, if you’d asked me who I thought was going to die in TFA, I wouldn’t have named any of the confirmed Episode VIII returnees.
This spoils nothing.
You just have look at the casting call for episode 8. Just saying. This isn’t news. They list all the actors and actresses returning. I think the biggest surprise to me is Christie will be in episode 8. Not really John. They given the hint John, Daisy are the carriers of the franchise now.
a small stack compared to the others that will appear in the same film
Shouldn’t have done that Kathy.
So that means Phasma, Finn, and/or Poe are dead. Damn.
I’m genuinely intrigued to hear the thought process behind you coming to that conclusion…
She’s naming returning actors before the movie opens as part of the swerve..lol
episode viii: the marvelous adventures of the force ghosts
I wonder if we’ll see the heroes apart on different missions but something or someone will bring them together again. Similar to ESB, Rey with BB-8 goes to train with Luke, (Luke and R2 went to train with Yoda) while Finn, Chewy and Poe get into trouble somehow? Rey abandons the training and goes to save her friends? I know it’s basically a rehash and speculation but it would be interesting to see a strong woman leave to save the guys asses or something similar.
In episode VIII we’ll see Luke and Rey fight side-by-side, but I feel your speculation is the direction Episode VIII will take. If Chewie returns in Episode VIII then he’ll partner up with Finn.
This must mean that all the droids die in TFA.
https://media.giphy.com/media/h8cCj4Z2KeYaQ/giphy.gif
You’re welcome ViralHide 😉
YES FINN DOESN’T DIE! Best news in a while.
I find it strange how can you be attached to characters that you have no idea if you will like or not?
I find that odd too?
I don’t know, do you?
I really like John Boyega and I think he’s an excellent addition to the new cast. His charisma/personal connection to Star Wars is admirable and judging by the cast interviews I’ve seen so far, it’s quite clear that out of all the new cast members, Boyega closely represents the generation of Star Wars fans that grew up on the material (whether that be OT or Prequel stuff). Regardless, what I’ve seen, read and heard about his character sounds great so far and I instantly wanted to see more/experience his full character arc instead of him simply being a ‘red herring’ for the ‘real jedi Rey.’
I find it odd too…. If just going by the interviews then why not just ask Boyega to continue conducting interviews and leave the movies to other actors? :p
Are you guys going to make an article about this new British BTS featurette?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIVpCVzsl4s
This isn’t surprising, though. I believe Isaac hinted in a previous interview that he’d be back, and they were having the actresses who were up for that mysterious new female lead role do chemistry reads with Boyega for casting. I’d say that is a pretty good indication he’d be in Episode 8.
at this point I don’t care about 8 and 9, I just want to see 7 first!
I had a dream last night that I was watching the movie (had a few of those this year!) and it ended with a “To Be Continued” sign, like Back to the Future 2. I bet THAT would make you interested in 8 and 9 🙂
yeah AFTER I’ve seen 7. I don’t care about 8 and 9 till AFTER I’ve soaked up 7.
I think that’s poor form by Kathleen Kennedy, who up to now has been pretty good. Knowing that John Boyega will be in Episode 8 takes a lot of the tension out of his duel with Kylo Ren.
I’ve got to agree with you on this one even though I was really hoping Finn survives 8 and finishes his story (alive) in 9.
Is it just me or does this news really narrow down the potential deaths in 7 to Han, Leia and Chewie? I have a few reasons to believe Chewie’s the one getting knocked this episode… primarily because Mayhew knows he’s not in great shape to be acting at the moment and so Abrams/Kasdan wanted to give him a heroic death instead of a ‘Chewie dies peacefully from old age in a hut and the cast cry a bit.’
Agreed. I like what I’ve seen of Finn, and I hoped he made it through. But it would have been nice watching him fight and feeling his fear.
As for potential deaths – yep, not too many left to worry about now! I’m not sure about Chewie, because they could put someone else in the costume. Chewie could be a bit like the droids, and go on indefinitely.
Maybe a whole lot of minor characters will die.
Out of curiosity, what is the average life span of Chewie’s species? coz i see no signs of Chewie’s aging/grey hairs in the trailers
“Several centuries.”according to a couple wikis.
Han dies. Kylo kills him
Actually Max Rebo kills him.
Bullshit! I thought it was Sy Snoodles!! (I saw the movie early.)
lol. Hey Viral Hide, why did you remove my comment
People are touchy about spoilers especially a week before the premiere. No matter if they were serious or not.
Nothing new here about Boyega I think, only Isaac.
In the interview some days ago, he was sitting between Boyega and Ford.
Answering a question about the Episode VIII he adressed Boyega for January and she said nothing about Ford.
I always have imagined that saber fight is almost the end of the movie and it could be the moment Luke appears to help but may be late.
Of course, those are my conjectures.
Everybody already knew Boyega would be in Ep. 8. He’s been on the Ep.8 cast list on IMDB for months now. It was no secret really.
At this point, the only major character who is not confirmed to return in Ep. 8 is Kylo Ren. I suspect he might not make it after the fight with Rey.
No one takes IMDB seriously when it comes to future projects. It’s reliable for films already released, but a joke for upcoming films, due to the fact anyone can edit it.
it does but I think the heavy Finn marketing was a clear indication he will most probably carry thru all 3 new episodes
I’ve seen the movie early. Kylo Ren is not the top ‘baddie’, Lea has become a Jedi since Episode 6, there is a Death Star like weapon, and Finn is conflicted with his feelings. Hint: He has fear, and fear leads to anger, and anger leads to hate and hate leads to…..suffering.
I’m not reading your comment (just in case), but regardless, you’re lying.
Trolls be trollin’…
Mr. Imperfect,
I’ve also seen the movie early. Of course Kylo Ren is not the top ‘baddie,’ Snoke is. Everybody who has seen the movie early knows this (yawn). And it is L-e-i-a. She is not a jedi in the movie that I saw early. Maybe you got it confused with being a general. Yes, there is a Death Star-like weapon (like in the poster!)…. yaaaawn. Finn does have conflicted feelings. This is a underlying rule of drama. Again… yaaaawn.
I was clearly full of it, and you took me seriously. And that is because you are the one who is not perfect. The guy who called me a liar, now he just might be perfect. 😉
I never took you seriously. That’s why I called you Mr. Imperfect and why I also claimed to have seen the movie early. I suggest to change your to “Mr. Obnoxious.”
I am what I say I am, and I say I’m perfect. I have caught my own 80-yard touchdown pass before you know.
Ha ha! Okay, you have my begrudging respect.
After hearing this, my wanting Kylo to make it out of 7 and continue through 8 and possibly 9 has been doubted. I really hoped he’s not “Mauled” in 7, but I also see why KK wouldn’t announce Driver’s involvement in 8 due to potential spoilers regarding 7.
…but why is she worried about spoiling kylo and not phasma or Finn? 🙁
I think it’s because there’s more to Kylo than we’ve seen or heard. If she announces something about one of the main antagonist, whether it’s good or bad, then it could give away a huge part of the story. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain what I’m thinking in my head, but like I said before, I hope we have him in 8. I’d be EXTREMELY disappointed if we lost him in 7.
I don’t worry for Kylo making it, I think he’s gonna be the “Vader” of this trilogy which will in general very much revolve around him and his sister.
Yeah, if Rey and Kylo Ren are siblings, there’s no way he’ll die in VII. The whole trilogy will be about them.
just because she has only confirmed a few people doesn’t just completely rule out that anyone else will survive.. jesus christ, star wars fans take EVERYTHING said out of ANY important person’s mouth as strict verbatim.
I think much like Tarkin in the OT, that Hux will be the general that goes down with the (star)ship/base in this one.
Harrison Ford will return
Well, Mexico is pretty cheap to shoot in but I still want to see nations that have never had a major blockbuster film in them before for the new trilogy and spin-offs.
So the thing about Finn does anyone think JJ and the team are the playing the long game and he will be the ultimate hero of the trilogy. Even though this wasn’t a surprise in the prequels, but Obi Wan was the hero in the prequels which is why I thought the Prequels should have focused more on Obi Wan and have Anakin’s downfall a subplot to Obi Wan’s story like Vader’s story is a subplot to Luke’s main story.
Considering the classic heroes journey. Rey is being compared to Luke but the only thing she has in common with Luke in terms of Story and Character is that she lives on a desert planet. Rey is already a bad ass and seems to have had some kind of combat training and seems to be special early on. Luke was not a badass and didn’t have any combat training and didn’t seem all that special in a new hope. Rey is supposed to go up against Kylo Ren and hold her own. Luke goes up against Vader for the first time and Vader plays with him for the most part and then kicks his butt and chops off his right hand. Basically Rey is already bad ass who fights skillfully with a staff and then you just give her a lightsaber. So in terms of long term character arc besides finding out who her parents are it doesn’t seem all that interesting, even though I’m sure she will be a cool character.
Now we have Finn. Nobody special. Faceless soldier among thousands of faceless soldiers. Finn presumably after some massacre that he refuses to participate in decides to break Poe out and leave the First Order starting his adventure. Luke after seeing his Uncle and Aunt being massacred decides he has no other choice now then to find Ben and start his heroes journey. We see Finn at the Gun of the Falcon like Luke. Finn in one of the trailer when he starts hitting tie fighters, says he is pretty good at this like he is surprised at himself(force sensitivity helping him out when he’s never fired that kind of weapon before in the falcon)Rumors of the the final duel have Finn being beaten by Kylo and then being injured by Kylo before Rey takes up the saber and holds her own against Kylo. Now if Finn loses a limb in the fight as rumored (Pg 13 rating) and gets a cybernetic replacement. Who else has this happened to in the trilogy? Anakin Skywalker gets his arm taken by Dooku and then goes up against Dooku again and has his revenge, and then Luke gets his hand taken by Vader, and he goes up against Vader again and basically beats him before he yields refusing to kill his father.
So with all that being said. Just story wise, wouldn’t it make sense that by Trilogy’s end Finn would get another chance to go up against Kylo the man who took his hand or arm. I think JJ knows everyone thinks Finn isn’t force sensitive and is the second Fiddle to Daisy. So I think they are playing the long game. I mean the last person you suspect to be the ultimate hero of this thing is the black guy. lol.
Who knows, you could be right. But I think Rey is going to be the hero.
She might be a badass and capable of looking after herself already but that doesn’t mean there’s nowhere for her character to go. At the start she’s a scavenger and all alone. When asked who she, is she replies, “I’m no one.” It looks like her arc will be the same as Luke’s: nobody to somebody.
Don’t get me wrong though, I think Finn will play a major player in the trilogy and have an arc of his own. I just think it will be Rey whose decisions drive the story and be the protagonist.
John Boyeg, John
Boyega? You mean after a hundreds and
thousands of actors in a
world wide search this dude was picked for
the lead role? He
doesn’t have, that, that classic movie look.
He should be like in
a Boyz in The Hoodie movie with a 40 ounce
bottle of malt liquor
not in a Star Wars movie. At least Billy De
Williams had his trade
mark “Jerry Curl. This is another case
of Token Hollywood
casting just because the politically correct
liberals say we need
a “BLACK” in every movie now. Look what
Happened to
Marvel’s Nick Fury.
http://boycottstarwarsvii.wordpress.com