As the filming of Star Wars in Dubrovnik draws near everybody is very anxious to try and get the best possible information from the ground. We now know some of the areas will be well closed off for the public making it difficult to get a curious eye anywhere near the film set.

This being 2016 there are plenty of technological advances that can allow the fans and paparazzi alike to get a closer look at the action while it’s being filmed. However, for those (and we know you are out there) who think Star Wars Episode VIII filming will be an easy target for camera equipped drones, you are unfortunately sadly mistaken. Dubrovnik set will be guarded by production’s own drones which will have a task of disabling unauthorized camera drones from getting a look at what is going on on the set, as reported by Croatian news portal tportal.hr.

Disney seems to have been taking serious notes during the filming of Episode VII as that one was not spared by spying drones, as seen in the following clip:

We can’t help but ask ourselves is the production taking similar steps on other locations as the filming of Star Wars tours the globe.

While the production of Star Wars tours worldwide filming locations for Episode VIII, it’s not a bad idea to mark your calendars for the next few years with all the planned released for the franchise. As you are probably aware, there are few spin off movies scheduled for filming alongside Episodes VIII and IX.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, photo Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm

It was recently published in a text by CinemaBlend that we have no less than 5 Star Wars films to look forward to in the next 5 years. Obviously, we are excited the most about Star Wars Episode VIII which officially began filming earlier this month, but this is not the next Star Wars film we will be able to enjoy. Spin off movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story about a group of Rebel Alliance soldiers trying to get their hands on Death Star plans is due to be released on December 16th 2016…   yep, that’s this year. The story of the film is set chronologically sometime between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the first ever filmed Episode IV: A New Hope. This one is currently in post-production and is made under expert direction of Gareth Edwards, who brought us the latest Godzilla remake, but also a seriously underrated Monsters from 2010.

Monsters by Gareth Edwards, photo Wikipedia

Episode IX is also going to be in the making before we know it as the release date was set for the year 2019 and the director chosen for this one is Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow.

Disney is apparently also aiming to do a „young Han Solo“ movie, and although we are still waiting for an official confirmation, it is hard to imagine them not doing it, especially since Han Solo is one of the firm favourite characters with the fans of the franchise. Release date should be sometime post-2017.

Han Solo Being Cool, photo Lucasfilm

Finally, there is a Bobba Fett movie which should be another expansion of the Star Wars movie universe. Information surrounding this one are even more scarce that the Han Solo project, but we are told we can expect this one in the year 2020.

Which one of these is going to be your favourite? Are there any other spin off mov… what am I saying… WHICH other spin off movies would you like to see in the plans for Star Wars franchise?

In which direction we can expect the upcoming episode of Star Wars to go? We’ve seen the developments in the Episode VII and from those we can assume a lot, but as the saying goes; „when you assume, you make and ass out of u and me“. Still, that never stopped us fans from assuming plenty about our favourite sci fi saga.

Moviepilot.com brings a few points to attention. They’re guessing the plot for the new episode will pick up exactly where Episode VII left off. That shouldn’t be too much of a stretch as the ending of Episode VII with the long awaited reveal of Luke Skywalker left a pretty clear impression we’re due for a continuation of that plot line as soon as we get back in the next movie, who knows, maybe even with the continuation of the same scene. Still, this is a bit unusual for Star Wars franchise as most of the films pick up at least a year after the story of the prior episode ended.

Many fans have been wondering if we will see any flashback sequences, but the overwhelming stance is that the franchise will not break its „no retrospective scenes“ practise, even now when we have so many questions about what transpired between the original Episode VI and the latest Episode VII The Force Awakens.

Rey seems to be poised to take the spotlight for the upcoming movie. Moviepilot.com quotes the synopsis as saying:

“Rey took her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and will continue her epic journey with Finn, Poe, and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the continuing Star Wars saga, Star Wars: Episode VIII.”

This doesn’t come as a great surprise when we realise the plot for The Force Awakens saw Finn in the main role for most of the movie, only to be upstaged at the film’s finale by Rey.

Rey and Finn continue as main characters, photo Moviepilot.com

One more, almost unanimous theory is that we will going to see plenty more of Poe Dameron in Episode VIII as he was only hinted as one of the main protagonists for the new storyline, but was then absent from the screen for most of the movie.

Most of us are pretty excited to have the classic Star Wars feel to the movie back in the first of the sequels. However, there are those more critical, who expressed dismay about what at times felt like a recycled story in Episode VII. Whatculture.com has even published “10 ways Star Wars Episode VIII will probably rip off Empire Strikes Back“. Let’s hope not.

With the production for Star Wars episode VIII already in motion and the start of Dubrovnik Star Wars filming less than a month away, we are beginning to see the real power behind Disney’s promotional machinery. You could say when it comes to marketing, the force is truly strong with them (this pun was so bad I couldn’t resist it). Although the release date for Episode VIII was recently pushed back to December 17th 2017, you’d have a tough time trying to navigate around any entertainment section of your favorite online news source without stumbling upon some information about Star Wars.

As Entrepreneur.com’s Nina Zipkin reports, with Episode VII grossing over $2 billion globally and experts’ predictions talking about estimated $5 – $6 billion of revenue from Star Wars merchandise during 2016, it is easy to see the media hype is not only possible to explain, but it would be foolish not to insist on it.

Of course, even without the advertising and PR efforts of world’s entertainment giants, the news and information about Star Wars would still be efficiently carried around our media space through the efforts of its legion of fans. So, can we call the situation today a „perfect storm“ of promotional efforts when one entertainment project enjoys both a support of probably the biggest fan base in movie history and at the same time is being pushed by what could be the strongest entertainment company to date? Probably. Why else would I write this entire text just so I can show you the first teaser for Star Wars Episode VIII. It’s a whopping 34 seconds long and shows no new material, but we’ll take it. It’s better than nothing.

Call it obsession, call it being a sucker for trends, but I can’t look at this short clip without it drawing a smile on my face.

Go Episode VIII!

We were delighted to be able to appear on Star Wars Report Podcast aired yesterday. During a quick chat with our gracious host Mr Riley Blanton, there was a chance to exchange a few words about the locations chosen for Star Wars Episode VIII filming in Dubrovnik, and ideas on what this city will bring to the Star Wars universe. In the end we agreed the most important thing now the dates and location are out in the media is to focus on what comes next – the actual scenes to be shot and characters to be involved.

As reported by MOS Croatia, national Star Wars Portal, there are rumours the city’s main street might be used as a setting for an action or chase scene as the windows of the houses along the route are going to be covered in order to facilitate special effects filming later on. There is also talk of a replica of the street to have been built in a studio somewhere in the UK, which will be used for planning the film shoot so the time spent on location is used efficiently as possible.

Dubrovnik main street – Stradun, photo Insider Holidays

All in all, things are definitely heating up. Make sure to check out Star Wars Report Podcast, and not just the parts we are in.

With the upcoming Star Wars filming in Dubrovnik, virtually around the corner, the locals are anxious to see exactly how will the film shoot affect their everyday routine. As we already announced, some of the locations mentioned for the filming are some of the city’s most attractive and most visited places – like the main street, Stradun, or Old City Port, and Rector’s Palace. This, of course, means they are widely used by the locals as well, but they’ve already gotten used to sharing their city with international productions.

However, these days Dubrovnik is not just revolving around movie industry. Mercedes Benz has been visiting Dubrovnik for a few weeks now and they’ll be here until mid-April while their „Mercedes Benz Global Training 2016“event is being held. The event will culminate with the European unveiling of their new E Class, just a few days after its Detroit World Premier. As reported by AutoStart.hr this event will bring in some 15000 Mercedes’ guests. In the meantime one cannot escape brand new Mercedes models (some 350 cars are said to have been brought in) cruising the streets of Dubrovnik.

One of the Mercedes cars in front of the Rector’s Palace in Dubrovnik

Some of the cars have been displayed in the Old City historical district of Dubrovnik, with some taking their place in the spotlight on Stradun – the main street, and in front of the Rector’s Palace as well. Both of these have been marked as the filming locations for Star Wars Episode VIII, which is due during March, while Mercedes will still be in Dubrovnik. So, are we to see an epic fight between the two global players over who gets to stay in these locations? Probably no, they’ve more than likely already arranged what to do, but one can dream anyway. Who do you think would win?

Since Mercedes is here with their cars in the historical district already, and Star Wars production is more than likely already organised all the filming permits and shipping of their equipment, shouldn’t they just go ahead and make a Star Wars themed Mercedes E Class commercial in Dubrovnik?

News keep getting more and more exciting! While everybody in Dubrovnik is understandably happy about the filming of Star Wars Episode VIII in their fair city, the questions about the scope of the filming and characters to appear on the set keep arising. One of the most important and intriguing issues is whether this year’s filming in Dubrovnik will be it for the Star Wars franchise or is there a chance this Croatian holiday hotspot appears in the sequel(s) as well?

Could Dubrovnik be the next movie Mecca in Europe?

According to SeeBiz.eu there is an idea of building an actual film studio in the near vicinity of Dubrovnik to boost the city’s appeal among the international production companies. They quoted mayor’s spokesperson Petar Ipsic as saying the issue was actually discussed during the meeting in San Francisco with representatives of Lucasfilms who apparently expressed interest for cooperation on the project, thus giving way to speculations, this year’s Star Wars filming in Dubrovnik could be just the beginning of a long lasting cooperation.

We are keeping our fingers firmly crossed.

In anticipation of the beginning of Star Wars filming in Dubrovnik, we take a look at some of the locations used throughout the years for the past episodes of Star Wars saga. YouTube channel List25 published a video featuring 25 locations around the world which were used as filming locations or sets for background stills in various Star Wars films. Most of the fans will know which country appears the most, but Dubrovnik Star Wars fans will be interested to see one location in Italy which in looks similar to the type of set the production might get on Dubrovnik locations.

If all we’ve had over the past few days were well established rumours and unofficial stories, no one can deny “this thing is happening” anymore. After we’ve brought you the news of the (practically) confirmed Star Wars filming dates and locations in Dubrovnik, there has been a media storm to have the final official confirmation. Last night the Mayor of Dubrovnik, Andro Vlahusic gave a statement to RTL Croatia News from the United States where he had a meeting with Lucas Film representatives. He confirmed the filming is not only taking place, but is definitely being done in and around some of the most iconic Dubrovnik landmarks which made the city vastly popular among travellers from all over the world and earned the acceptance into UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list.

Mayor of Dubrovnik – Andro Vlahusic, photo Facebook

We were very excited to share the news during an appearance on the podcast by Star Wars Report Blog, run by some thoroughly cool people dedicated to providing Star Wars fans with all manner of up to date information about their favourite obsession. The podcast is due to air on Monday 15^th of February, check out their website for the details.

After yesterday’s news about the likely filming dates and locations for Star Wars Episode VIII in Dubrovnik, the official cost of the actual filming is out. As Dubrovnik Digest  reports, Mr. Hrvoje Hribar, the head of Croatian government – backed agency for audio visual arts, was quoted as saying the filming for Star Wars Episode VIII in Dubrovnik will cost approximately 38 million Croatian Kunas (around $5,4 million) per day.

This hefty amount is enough to finance quite a spectacular shoot. Combine this with already stunning locations in the city’s medieval historical centre that are rumoured to be confirmed for filming, as well as superb aesthetics that have become a trademark for the franchise over the years and you have the makings of a potentially very interesting addition to the Star Wars universe.

Dubrovnik’s Old City Centre, photo Gabriela Gruica

The question on the minds of Croatian Star Wars fans now is what will the money be used for and how will this translate to the end product? The possibilities are endless.