<P> The story begins immediately after the last scene of The Force Awakens . He had his story group watch films such as Twelve O'Clock High, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Gunga Din, Three Outlaw Samurai, Sahara, and Letter Never Sent for inspiration while developing ideas . He felt it was difficult to work on the film while The Force Awakens was being finished . </P> <P> In December 2015, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy stated that "we haven't mapped out every single detail (of the sequel trilogy) yet". She said that Abrams was collaborating with Johnson and that Johnson would in turn work with (then) Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow to ensure a smooth transition . Abrams is an executive producer along with Jason McGatlin and Tom Karnowski . Lucasfilm announced the film's title, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, on January 23, 2017 . </P> <P> In September 2015, Disney shortlisted the female cast members to Gina Rodriguez, Tatiana Maslany, and Olivia Cooke . Later that month, Benicio del Toro confirmed that he would play a villain in the film, and Mark Hamill was also confirmed . In October 2015, Gugu Mbatha - Raw was rumored to have been cast in the film . In November, Jimmy Vee was cast as R2 - D2 . In November, Kennedy announced at the London premiere for The Force Awakens that the entire cast would return for Episode VIII, along with "a handful" of new cast members . In February 2016, at the start of filming, it was confirmed that Laura Dern and Kelly Marie Tran had been cast in unspecified roles . In April 2017, at Star Wars Celebration Orlando, Lucasfilm announced that Tran plays Resistance maintenance worker Rose Tico, which Johnson described as the film's largest new role . To keep Frank Oz's return as Yoda a secret, producers excluded Oz's name in the billing for the film's pre-release marketing and ensured that Oz stayed on set during filming . </P> <P> Second unit photography began during pre-production at Skellig Michael in Ireland on September 14, 2015, due to the difficulties of filming at that location during other seasons . It would have lasted four days, but filming was canceled for the first day due to poor weather and rough conditions . In November 2014, Ivan Dunleavy, chief executive of Pinewood Studios, confirmed that the film would be shot at Pinewood, with additional filming in Mexico . In September 2015, del Toro revealed that principal photography would begin in March 2016; Kennedy later stated that filming would begin in January 2016 . The production began work on the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios on November 15, 2015 . Rick Heinrichs served as production designer . </P>

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