Star Wars: Episode VIII Begins Production, Announces CastPosted by Wilson Morales
February 15, 2016
Rey took her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and will continue her epic journey with Finn, Finn, Poe, and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the continuing Star Wars saga, Star Wars: Episode VIII, which began principal photography at Pinewood Studios in London on February 15, 2016.
Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is written and directed by Rian Johnson and continues the storylines introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, welcomes back cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis. New cast members will include Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro, Academy Award nominee Laura Dern, and talented newcomer Kelly Marie Tran.
Star Wars: Episode VIII is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman and executive produced by J.J. Abrams, Jason McGatlin, and Tom Karnowski. Joining the production crew will be some of the industry’s top talent, including Steve Yedlin (Director of Photography), Bob Ducsay (Editor), Rick Heinrichs (Production Designer), Peter Swords King (Hair and Make-Up Designer), and Mary Vernieu (US Casting Director). They will be joining returning crew members Pippa Anderson (Co-Producer, VP Post Production), Neal Scanlan (Creature & Droid FX Creative Supervisor), Michael Kaplan (Costume Designer), Jamie Wilkinson (Prop Master), Chris Corbould (SFX Supervisor), Rob Inch (Stunt Coordinator), Ben Morris (VFX Supervisor), and Nina Gold (UK Casting Director).
Dern, daughter of actor Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, received Oscar nominations for her work in “Rambling Rose” and “Wild,” had major roles in “Mask,” “Blue Velvet” and “Jurassic Park.” Upcoming projects include Jennifer Fox’s “The Tale” and Kelly Reichardt’s “Certain Women.”
Del Toro won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Traffic,” earned another nomination for “21 Grams.” He was last seen in “Sicario” and will next reprise his role as the Collector in “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.”
Except for a supporting role in the Netflix film “XoXo,” Kelly Marie Tran was seen in a recurring status in NBC’s “About a Boy” and guest-starred in Amazon Studios’ “Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street.” According to IMDB, she is also known for roles in “The Rising Cost of Cosmetics” (2011), “Untouchable” (2011) and “Andy’s CDs” (2013).
Star Wars: Episode VIII is scheduled for release December 15, 2017.
