'Star Wars: Episode VII' to shoot in London in May, with R2D2 aboard - Los Angeles Times
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‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ to shoot in London in May, with R2D2 aboard

J.J. Abrams will take his crew to London to shoot "Star Wars: Episode VII."
(Tim P. Whitby / Getty Images)
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The new “Star Wars” will begin shooting in a time not long from now in a galaxy not really very far away.

The J.J. Abrams reboot of the classic space-opera franchise will begin production in London in May, Disney said Wednesday via the official “Star Wars” site. The events in the film will pick up — fittingly — 30 years after the last chronological film, “The Return of the Jedi,” which came out three decades ago.

“‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ is set about 30 years after the events of ‘Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi’, and will star a trio of new young leads along with some very familiar faces,” the company said in a statement.

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ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll

Indeed, the production has been looking for up-and-coming actors to take the mantle from Luke Skywalker and Han Solo even as the new film is believed to include those familiar faces — namely, Mark Hamill as Luke, Harrison Ford as Han and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. George Lucas has said that producers were in negotiations with all three some time ago.

A host of actors have read for a variety of the fresh-faced parts, with Adam Driver, Jesse Plemons, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan among the actors who have reportedly been considered by filmmakers.

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Other tidbits gleaned recently include the return of R2D2, whom Disney chief Robert Iger (re)-confirmed in a call with analysts Tuesday will be returning to the series.

The movie is the first of a trilogy that Disney is planning since it acquired Lucasfilm; Abrams is directing from a script he and Lawrence Kasdan wrote and that Michael Arndt initially contributed to.

The terse statement Wednesday offers some clues but not a lot of new insight; it comes after a steady trickle of news (or at least rumor, scuttlebutt and speculation) moving the needle forward (or at least filling fans’ Wiki pages.)

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“Star Wars: Episode VII” will hit theaters Dec. 18, 2015.

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