'Star Wars' Might Use Real Space Footage For 'IX'

Star Wars fans, now is the time to spruce up on your Jedi training. Why? Because, even though Star Wars: Episode VIII won't be heading to theaters until December 15, 2017, there are some new details coming out about Star Wars: Episode IX. And, seriously, this is news that can't be taken lightly. It seems as if Episode IX may be taking us to a galaxy far, far away — literally. According to a recent interview at the Sundance Film Festival, Colin Trevorrow — the upcoming director for the ninth Star Wars filmEpisode IX — revealed that Star Wars might include film footage from outer space. Like, the real outer space. You may commence your fangirling now.

Dying for more details? Unfortunately, Trevorrow did not say that anything was official as of yet. However, the concept has been put into the atmosphere, as in it's been put on the table for Lucasfilm and Disney to approve. "I asked the question, 'Is it possible for us to shoot IMAX film in actual space for Star Wars, and I haven’t gotten an answer yet," Trevorrow shared, "but they’ve shot IMAX in space!'" And that is the key point here: It's been done before, which leads me to believe that there's a pretty good chance that this genius idea could be approved.

But when was something this insane done before, you ask? In the form of documentaries, such as 2010's Hubble 3D — a film where Warner Brothers used IMAX 3D equipment to follow seven astronauts on their journey to fix the Hubble Space Telescope. However, due to safety concerns, Trevorrow probably isn't talking about taking an Wookies into space to get a couple of cool shots. It should be noted that using actual imagery from space is something that narrative film is only recently starting to become familiar with. As fellow director at the "Power of Story: The Art of Film" panel, Christopher Nolan, has used NASA equipment and footage for his own 2014 science fiction film — “Funny enough, we had that conversation with Interstellar. There’s incredible footage from space now."

But, knowing Disney and the huge success that was Episode VII , I have a feeling there's going to be no holding back when it comes to a Star Wars film. So where will the actual IMAX 3D footage of space come into play for Episode IX? Most likely in the general shots of space used throughout the film and in the post-production creations of green screenshot footage. And, honestly, that's good enough for me as of right now (when it comes time for Star Wars: Episode XX — we may need to talk Lucasfilm).

Assuming they can film a least pieces of the film in outer space, let's discuss the amazing-ness of this a little bit. According to some basic principles of astronomy and physics, when you're looking at space, you're actually looking back in time because it takes billions of years for the light from the stars we're seeing to actually reach us. Meaning that, yes, when there's a photograph or video of outer space taken, it's actually a photograph or video of something from a long time ago... In a galaxy far, far away. And, yes, I know that Star Wars is science fiction, but seriously, I just had to point that out that little fun fact.

However, whether we get some real shots from outer space or not, there's one thing we know for sure. Episode IX will indeed be shot on film. As Trevorrow revealed in a Sundance Film Festival panel, "I could never shoot Star Wars on anything but [film] because it's a period film: It happened a long time ago!" I think I'm in love with the idea of Colin Trevorrow directing already, but we'll just have to wait and see. Star Wars: Episode IX won't be heading into theaters until May 29, 2019 and first up is director Rain Johnson for Star Wars: Episode VIII. May the Force be with them both.

Images: Lucasfilm/Walt Disney Pictures; Giphy