Star Wars: Episode VIII Has Officially Wrapped Shooting

After five months of shooting in locations like Ireland, Dubrovnik, and Pinewood Studios in London, Star Wars: Episode VIII has officially wrapped.

After five months of shooting and several weeks of actors and actresses announcing one by one the end of their  part of the film’s shoot, the official Star Wars Twitter account announced it was a wrap on Star Wars: Episode VIII. The announcement was accompanied by a short missive from director Rian Johnson:

Five months is a long time, and yet simultaneously it’s hard to believe production on Episode VIII is over already. It’s July 2016, and we just got done with Star Wars Celebration Europe. Rogue One is less than five months away. And with footage of Episode VIII being secured this very moment, a trailer can’t be far away. Time moves quickly in the Star Wars universe, it seems, but of course it will never move fast enough to satisfy fans. It’s like some weird paradox, on par with Mortis from The Clone Wars.

More from Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

• Ahsoka’s spiritual journey and how it ties in with Luke and Rey
• How many Oscars has Star Wars won?
• Rian Johnson defends Star Wars’ need to be ‘goofy’
• Mark Hamill quickly responds to fan’s The Last Jedi questions: ‘You’re welcome’
• The 5 best things in the Disney era of Star Wars

“Weird” is a fitting descriptor for the wait for Episode VIII, particularly because Episode VIII itself is supposed to be weird, according to The Force Awakens script writer Lawrence Kasdan. I have a feeling VIII is going to take us to places we’ve never been before, places like Mortis with strange new concepts of the Force that are going to blow our minds. It’s also going to be darker, per John  Boyega, which also makes sense given the second installments in the prequels and the original trilogy were darker, more adult than the first Episodes.

There will also be a diverse array of new locations. Episode VIII went to Dubrovnik, Croatia, for a city shoot, as well as several locations in Ireland, including Skellig Michael where the final scene of The Force Awakens (and the first scene of Episode VIII, presumably) was filmed. Sets were built at Pinewood Studios in London, and there are probably other locations we don’t even know about.

The good news is, we may not have to wait for a trailer to glimpse some of these new worlds. Rian Johnson has been clever about giving behind the scenes looks at the film’s production on his Instagram and Tumblr, so he might be open to posting sneak peeks of sets the closer we get to the Episode VIII‘s release. Regardless of whether he’s feeling gracious on social media, a behind the scenes video like we got for both The Force Awakens and Rogue One is inevitable, and there are sure to be costumes from the film on display at Star Wars Celebration Orlando next year, where, Johnson assures us, Episode VIII will be the showcase film.

Next: Ashley Eckstein Models Ahsoka Dress Made Of LEGO Bricks

For now, our sights are set on the prize before us: Rogue One, coming to theaters December 16, 2016. But we’ll keep an eye out for Episode VIII news along the way.