STAR WARS IS said to be heading back to Ireland to film in Donegal – but the move isn’t yet confirmed.
The Department responsible for giving the green light to filming in Ireland hasn’t given permission for the makers of Star Wars, Lucasfilm, to film scenes in Donegal.
It had already been revealed that part of Star Wars: Episode VIII will be filmed in Dingle later this year. This follows filming at Skellig Michael for both Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens and the forthcoming eighth movie in the franchise.
Reports of location scouts having visited the Malin Head area in Donegal were revealed this week. Minister of State at the Department of Arts Joe McHugh told the Donegal Daily that there are “still a few things to be sorted with the department” but he was confident they would be taken care of.
In a statement to TheJournal.ie today, a spokesperson for Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys, said:
The Department has not given permission for filming in Donegal at this point, and Minister Humphreys is not in a position to comment on potential pipeline film projects.
The Department confirmed last week that it has given permission for a limited amount of filming to take place on Sybil Head in Dingle later this year.
The statement added that the filming of major productions in Ireland “delivers a huge boost not just to the Irish film industry but also to our growing tourism sector”.
Minister Humphreys is very keen to continue to grow Ireland’s reputation as a world class film location.
Filming at Sybil Head in Dingle isn’t expected to begin for a number of months. It was granted subject to strict conditions, as the area is privately owned and the proposal had to be examined by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The next film will be directed by Rian Johnson, though previous director JJ Abrams will be acting as an executive producer.
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