Over the years the Star Wars films have introduced us to numerous environments across several planets. We've been to deserts and forests and places covered almost entirely in lava. It appears that our next excursion into the galaxy far, far away will take us to some sort of new jungle world, based on some images that have leaked from a new filming location in the UK.
The images, which can be seen at Making Star Wars, have been taken from a place called Black Park, not far from Pinewood Studios where the majority of the filming of Star Wars Episode IX is taking place. While Black Park is certainly more forest than jungle, the word is that the trees have been dressed with vines to give the location a slightly different look. While it appears the site is still under construction, and so exactly what we're going to see is not clear, a structure that looks like part of the Millennium Falcon has been spied, which would indicate the ship, and thus potentially the entire Resistance, is there.
According to rumors, there were potentially plans for part of Episode IX to film in Laos, though it's not clear if Black Park is set to replace that location entirely, or just be part of it. If there were/are plans to film in Laos, then certainly the plan was for a jungle-rich environment.
While this wouldn't be the first time we've seen Star Wars in heavily wooded areas, The Return of the Jedi 's Endor was filmed among the redwoods of Northern California which looks nothing like the foliage of Black Park. This is pretty clearly designed to be someplace else.
The only other area of note in the photos is one where a tarp has been placed on the ground and then covered with some likely artificial large rocks. This looks to be a specific filming location but it's only half constructed so it's hard to tell what is going to happen there.
Black Park has been used frequently by movie productions using Pinewood Studios because of its proximity. It's been used by James Bond films, the Harry Potter franchise and even Captain America: The First Avenger, though this appears to be the first time the park has been used by the Star Wars franchise.
While we don't know what the plan is for this location at the moment, there will likely be rumors yet to come that could give us some insight into what this planet is and why it will be important in Star Wars Episode IX. Once we know we can include those details along with everything else we currently know about the upcoming film.
