Report: Filming for a Star Wars Film Going on in Iceland

By: Dominic Jones

The Icelandic news outlet RÚV is reporting that there is filming going on in Iceland for a Star Wars  movie right now!  Apparently, a production crew has been working near Hjörleifshöfði and Hafursey in South Iceland.  Local press believe that the crew is working on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, however they also claim that the production company working on the film is called "Space Bear," which our sources tell us is actually the codename for Rian Johnson's Star Wars Episode VIII.

We know that Rogue One is currently shooting in the UK and while some shooting for Episode VIII took place last week in Ireland, principle photography doesn't begin until early next year.  So that begs the question, what are they shooting in Iceland.  The crew over there is likely shooting second unit stuff for Episode VIII (establishing shots, stuff that will CGI elements added to it later - basically anything that doesn't involve the main cast).  We know that they were shooting second unit stuff in Abu Dhabi several weeks before the main cast was even announced for The Force Awakens, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility that Johnson has a crew out there now.

Iceland has long be rumored to serve as a location in a Star Wars movie.  There were some reports that scenes involving stormtroopers were shot there for The Force Awakens.  In addition, Iceland served as the inspiration for the DICE team when designing the planet Sullust for the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront game.  Could we be visiting Sullust in Episode VIII?  Maybe, but it bears keeping in mind that Iceland has incredibly diverse landscapes, so they could very well be shooting in a part of the country that looks nothing like Sullust.

As always this is just a rumor until confirmed or denied by Lucasfilm or Disney.

Source: RÚV.

Via: Iceland Review

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