RESIDENTS of Abu Dhabi will soon be ‘visiting’ the famous desert planet of Tatooine, without having to employ the services of any scoundrel-like space pirates flying shoddy spaceships.
The Star Wars franchise is reportedly coming to the city to film portions of the latest instalment of the space saga, Episode VII, with the deserts of the region doubling for the home planet of Luke Skywalker, which the soon-to-be Jedi famously escaped with the help of the smuggler Han Solo and his ship the Millennium Falcon.
New director J.J Abrams, famous for reinvigorating the rival franchise Star Trek, aswell as Mission Impossible III, will film in the emirate, after the unstable nature of the political climate in Tunisia, the original location for the desert planet, was deemed too risky by decision-makers for the big Hollywood production.
So the planet that featured Mos Eisley spaceport (“a wretched hive of scum and villainy”), Jabba the Hutt’s Palace, the Sarlacc Pit and Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru’s moisture farm will be only a short hop through ‘hyperspace’ for Abu Dhabi residents.
With rumours also circulating that the stars of the original trilogy, Mark Hamill (Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Harrison Ford (Han Solo) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) are also on board for the film, Abu Dhabi’s residents may soon be rubbing shoulders with the heroes of the Rebellion, as the latest twist to the epic saga unfolds.
Filming is set to take place for four weeks, beginning in mid-May, with the finished film set to be released in 2015.
