FILMING of the new Star Wars movie has begun on the picturesque island of Skellig Michael in Co Kerry.
The crew for the seventh instalment of the Star Wars franchise have begun descending on the Atlantic isle over the coming three days with filming due to take place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
The island will be closed to the public while filming on the JJ Abrams-directed blockbuster takes place.
Star Wars: Episode VII is due for release on Friday December 18 2015.
Local newspaper Kerry's Eye had previously reported that, “Skellig Michael is being made available for a film production shoot on the island . . . this production is being fully supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Irish Film Board.”
Skellig Michael is the larger of two islands in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of the Iveragh peninsula.
Other locations where filming is taking place include Abu Dhabi and the Mývatn and Krafla volcano in Iceland.
Waiting for the Star Wars crew on Valentia Island. Full update on @radiokerry shortly #starwars pic.twitter.com/6jTBvO5Fnx
— Owen O'Shea (@OwenOShea) July 28, 2014
This post was updated on July 28th. A previous report had said that filming was due to take place at the end of August and not the end of July
