Star Wars Episode IX films in Jordan

Extreme environments are a key element of the Star Wars universe, adding considerable visual diversity, and deserts are integral to the space opera’s screen stories.

Much of this trilogy’s opening instalment Star Wars: The Force Awakens, also directed by Abrams, took place on a desert planet, for which the filmmaker chose to build a set near Abu Dhabi.

Lucasfilm in fact filmed in Jordan just a couple of years ago for scenes in the standalone 2016 movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so the extended shoot for Episode IX marks a return for the franchise.

Episode IX used Jordan’s filming incentive support, which is worth up to 20% of eligible local spending. Lucasfilm hired 250 local crew across multiple departments and also used resources from the Jordanian military, which has a long-held reputation for assisting with international film shoots.

Jordan is making moves to boost its international production profile as the country faces stiff competition for desert locations from the likes of New Mexico in the US and Morocco.

In the last few weeks, The Royal Film Commission – Jordan hosted a familiarisation trip, showcasing a selection of its more iconic locations to US production executives from production entities including Netflix, HBO and Legendary Entertainment.

See KFTV's production guide for more on filming in Jordan.

Image: Disney/Lucasfilm