‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ Filming In IMAX


A tweet from J.J. Abrams’ production company, Bad Robot, appears to be the first official acknowledgement that Star Wars: Episode VII will be filming – at least partly – in IMAX.

Abrams is no stranger to the format, having used it extensively in Star Trek Into Darkness, but seemed to shoot down the idea earlier this year. At the time, the director confirmed only that the new installment of the Star Wars saga would be shot on 35mm film rather than digital, as the prequel trilogy had been. Abrams told The Wrap:

“In the right situation I would,” like to shoot in IMAX, he said. “The problem with IMAX is it’s a very loud camera. It’s a very unreliable camera. Only so much film can be in the camera. You can’t really do intimate scenes with it. It’s slow. They break down often. Having said that, they’re working on digital versions of these and so there may be a version one day. But we’re going to be shooting this next movie on film.”

Slashfilm reached out to IMAX and a rep told them: “All we can say at this point is that we can confirm that JJ Abrams is using the IMAX camera for Star Wars: Episode VII.”

The tweet is a bit vague, but the sandy terrain seems to fit the fact that the Star Wars cast and crew were recently filming in Abu Dhabi.

George Lucas used 35m film for his original trilogy, but switched to a very young digital format two decades later when working on the prequels. It was big news when Abrams announced he’d be going back to film, since the prequel trilogy had been criticized for its (over)reliance on digital. Disney announced in March that the new “Star Wars” would be released in IMAX, but it wasn’t clear at the time if any of the movie would be filmed in the format or if it would be converted in post-production.

Last year, Ain’t It Cool News reported that IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond told an investors’ conference that his company was “talking to J.J. Abrams’ team now about the next Star Wars being used with partly IMAX cameras.”

We reported earlier this week that filming will take a two-week break in August to allow star Harrison Ford to fully recover from an injury he suffered on set last month. But Star Wars: Episode VII is still set to wrap production this fall and bow in theaters December 18, 2015.

[photo: J.J. Abrams Fans]

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