J.J. Abrams on Wednesday shared the first set photo for Star Wars: Episode IX, which began production ahead of its December 2019 release. The image is full of clues and includes a caption from Abrams honoring Carrie Fisher, who Disney confirmed will appear in the film using unseen footage from The Last Jedi.
As for the image, it's a closeup of a camera pointed at what looks like the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. The camera features stickers for The Force Awakens and Episode IX, either signifying the fact that the same crew is back for the latest film or it's the same camera used on both productions.
Bittersweet starting this next chapter without Carrie, but thanks to an extraordinary cast and crew, we are ready to go. Grateful for @rianjohnson and special thanks to George Lucas for creating this incredible world and beginning a story of which we are lucky to be a part. #IX pic.twitter.com/FOfnGwVut5
— JJ Abrams (@jjabrams) August 1, 2018
While it's tough to make out who the camera is pointed it, it looks as though Finn (John Boyega) is in the ship's cockpit wearing a vest, rather than the jacket given to him by Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). That's probably neither here nor there, just an observation.
Next to Finn is Chewie. But we can't tell who else is in the photo since their face is obscured by the camera. Since both Finn and Chewie are accounted for, we assume it's Rey (Daisy Ridley), but we can't be sure.
Now that production has begun, expect many more images to start hitting the internet over the next several months. Little is known about how the trilogy will conclude, but hopefully we'll start learning more as we get closer to the movie's release.
Star Wars: Episode IX will hit theaters on December 20, 2019.
