Production is going to get underway in the month that STAR WARS movies have traditionally hit theaters. May 14th is the expected start date for filming and now we may have an indication as to where that may take place. Badass Digest claims to have a source that says the first two weeks of filming will occur in Morocco which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Tunisia. Do you know what that means?
STAR WARS fans will know right away that Tunisia was the filming location for Tatooine scenes in all films to date. While it is conjecture to think that Morocco guarantees a Tunisian shoot, the odds are likely due to their proximity. It also shows that Abrams and crew are keeping up their promise to use more practical location shooting rather than relying on green screen. If we need anything it is a more realistic and less video game-like STAR WARS: EPISODE VII.
It has recently become known that the Tunisian sets from the first STAR WARS movies have begun to fall apart due to lack of care and years of weathering. Fans have launched campaigns to save the moisture farm set and other structures, but Badass Digest poses the theory that J.J. Abrams may use the dilapidated sets as they are to represent the passage of time. Theories have had Mark Hamill returning as Luke Skywalker and, like Obi-wan Kenobi, and living on Tatooine in isolation. If that shakes out, this could all start falling into place.
We will know for sure once production gets underway and an official announcement is made by the studio. STAR WARS: EPISODE VII is slated for release on December 18, 2015.