Images have emerged on social media, claiming to be of the blockbuster’s set in Black Park. The location is in Buckinghamshire near Slough and has long been rumbled as a site being used by writer-director JJ Abrams for some major sequences in the sequel trilogy finale. This latest crop of images and videos suggests we’re looking at a scene set in a snowy location, and also some across-water sequences.
Instagram user griffin1 shared snaps yesterday, saying: “#starwars9 film set being dressed in snow today, along with a snow building set being struck #starwars #starwarsIX #episode9.” Scroll down to see them.
Could this be some kind of HQ akin to The Force Awakens’ Starkiller Base?
It’s unlikely to be a return to Crait, as those shots for The Last Jedi were taken in Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.
Late last week, another Instagram user – gillwrenart – shared snaps of two vehicles travelling across the lake.
It’s hard to tell if fake snow can be seen in amongst the trees in the background, or if it’s something else entirely – that is, if these water scenes are part of the same on-screen location as the snow shots.
We have a little longer to wait for any clear signs: the title for Episode 9 is still a mystery, and no sign of a teaser trailer has yet to appear.
With 2017’s The Last Jedi, the title was announced in late January, and the teaser didn’t hit until Star Wars Celebration in April.
With SWC returning this year at a similar time, will that be when we finally see some footage? Or will rumours of a Super Bowl unveiling prove accurate?
In the meantime, actor Richard E Grant has spoken of the intense security surrounding the sets.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning, he said: “I’ve never known [secrecy] like this! It comes out on the 19th December, but I’ve not even been allowed to tell my wife and daughter the name of my character.
“They have security on the sets, in plain clothes and visible, and you have to wear cloaks from the trailers to the studios because there are drones going overhead.
“You have to read the scripts in a big conference room that have guards outside and close circuit cameras. You get the pages you are doing on the day and you have to sign in and sign out for them at the end of the day… so it’s Fort Knox!”
