Written by Tom Deehan on Jan 28, 2016. Posted in Production News

Is Star Wars: Episode VIII eyeing Croatia as a potential filming location?

While an official announcement has yet to be made, multiple sources are reporting that the eighth instalment in the Star Wars episodic film series will be filmed partially in Croatia. Principal photography on the production has already begun at Pinewood Studios in London.

The series’ latest entry, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was filmed globally in countries such as Iceland, the United States, and the UK. The most iconic location to be used within the film however is Skellig Michael, a small island off the west coast of Ireland.

Due the effort to preserve Skellig Michael, which became a World Heritage Site in 1996 it is looking unlikely that Star Wars: Episode VIII will be permitted to film there, instead having to use a studio space to recreate the location.

Croatia has become a widely recognised filming location since its inclusion in HBO’s Game of Thrones. The highly successful fantasy drama features Dubrovnik as a reoccurring location in the form of King’s Landing.

In 2012 the country introduced an incentive programme via a cash rebate of up to 20%. In order to acquire the rebate, productions need to pass a cultural test and ensure that at least 30% the cast and crew are Croatian nationals.

The rebate applies only to feature films, documentaries, animation and television series. The required minimum spend varies based on the type of production, with the lowest set at HRK300,000 for documentaries and the highest set at HRK2 million for feature films.

Star Wars: Episode VIII is set to be released in December 2017 after having been delayed from its initial May 2017 release date.