The Millennium Falcon is hidden in some mysterious, Endor-like setting in today’s newly-unveiled set photos from Star Wars: Episode IX.
Coming to us by way of Making Star Wars, the following images appear to have been captured on location in Black Park, a forest located just outside Lucasfilm’s home base at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom.
In fact, the anonymous tipster who provided these photos has since announced that the production crew is now beginning to cover Episode IX‘s set with giant fabric sheets as a way to protect J.J. Abrams’ threequel from curious onlookers – not unlike the strategy used on Solo: A Star Wars Story. Though if this report is anything to go by, the artificial precautions in place are so unsightly that they’ll just attract more attention in and around the Black Park area. How very ironic.
However that may be, here’s your very first look at a grounded Millennium Falcon as it’ll appear in Star Wars: Episode IX:
Pretty cool, eh? Granted, it’s not a full close-up, as above you’ll only see part of the ship’s hull peeking through the trees, but the design and pale white paint job are unmistakable.
So even if the Millennium Falcon won’t attract the same levels of hype and excitement as the days preceding The Force Awakens, this is still a tantalizing preview of what’s to come – not least because it suggests that the remnants of the Resistance take shelter on an Endor-like planet as they begin plotting their next move against the First Order.
Star Wars: Episode IX opens big on December 20th, 2019. And only then will we know the true finale to Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Saga.