Could Abu Dhabi be the next Tatooine? The makers of Star Wars: Episode VII have reportedly chosen the capital to the recreate desert planet, home of Luke Skywalker and Anakin, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Filming is set to take place for four weeks, beginning mid-May.
Tatooine was created in Tunisia for the original Star Wars and subsequent movies. But sources told the trade magazine the political climate there is currently too dangerous to house a big Hollywood production.
As of Sunday, Disney, which bought the rights to the franchise from George Lucas’ Lucasfilm in 2012, had not confirmed the Abu Dhabi trip. Local production house TwoFour54, which is facilitating the shoot for Fast & Furious 7, told tabloid! it had no comment.
J.J. Abrams, who’s directed the Star Trek films, Mission: Impossible III and Super 8, will helm this third trilogy of the hugely successful franchise. The trilogy will follow after Return of the Jedi (1983) in the saga’s chronology. Star Wars: Episode VII is scheduled to release in 2015.
If the reports are true, the film will join a number of high-profile Hollywood productions to shoot in the capital.
The cast and crew of Fast & Furious 7 are currently back in town to film the action franchise, production for which was halted in November last year following actor Paul Walker’s death.
Actors Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson and Michelle Rodriguez arrived in the capital city over the past week with Christopher ‘Ludacris’ Bridges landing on Sunday.
“Abu Dhabi, here I come,” Bridges Tweeted on Sunday morning. The caption came with a picture of his feet propped up in front of him on a first class flight with a flat screen television in view.
“Now that’s ludicrous,” was his hashtag.
A representative for TwoFour54 said Sunday production for Fast & Furious 7 was going ahead as planned in Abu Dhabi.
