Star Wars: Episode VII Will Get Production Moving Again Later This Month

By Brent McKnight | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

SoloGetting details out of the set of Star Wars: Episode VII is a little bit like pulling teeth from the mouth of an angry tiger. One concrete fact we did learn is that the production hit a snag when returning franchise star Harrison Ford broke his leg on set back in June. Director J.J. Abrams and the rest of the Disney/Lucasfilm family did what they could to shoot around Ford’s injury. They even spent three days filming on the picturesque island Skellig Michael off the coast of Ireland. But they could only do so much, and have been on a hiatus for a couple of weeks. That, however, is about to come to an end as reports circulate that production will heat up again later this month.

It doesn’t come as a huge surprise that Ford and company are getting back to work. We recently saw photographic evidence of the 72-year-old actor walking around with only a small bandage on his leg, so we suspected things were going to get going again before long. He was also sighted at the premiere of The Expendables 3 earlier this week, and sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the cameras will start rolling again soon.

More than anything, this delay in production seems to confirm the rumors that we’ve been hearing for some time that Ford, and consequently Han Solo, plays a major part in the action of Episode VII. Some have even called him a co-lead, and his presence has figured prominently into just about every rumor that has surfaced in regards to the plot and storyline. Certainly if the production has to halt because he’s not able to perform what the script requires of him indicates that he’s going to be around quite a bit.

There was even talk that this delay in shooting might impact the release date for Episode VII, which is slated to hit theaters on December 18, 2015. But after a lot of back and forth, including discussions about pushing the release back to May 2016, where Star Wars movies have traditionally opened, some adjustments were made to the production schedule, and the movie should open as planned. At least that’s the word for now, as we know, things can always change at the last minute.

Star Wars Episode VIIThere have, of course, been tons of rumors and little things floating around, including leaked photos of the Millennium Falcon (and a new X-Wing), hints that Simon Pegg could appear, reports that Darth Vader might return (played by a professional wrestler no less), and stories about how Luke Skywalker hasn’t been heard from since the end of Return of the Jedi, among many others. In reality, we don’t know much about what we’re going to see next year aside from who is in the film. Episode VII stars returning vets Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, and Peter Mayhew, as well as new faces John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong’o, Oscar Isaac, Max Von Sydow, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, and more.