Star Wars Episode IX filming update: The end is near

Main cast members have started to give out real updates for the status of Star Wars Episode IX, and those yearning for some footage may have hope.

Alas, Star Wars fans, some dreams don’t come true. Yesterday, Deadline reported that Episode IX won’t have something done in time for the Super Bowl this Sunday. Before beginning to wail, gnash teeth, or otherwise react negatively react to this news, some news may be on the way relatively soon.

That’s due to not one, but two stars of the film dropping hint about their progress on the film. First up is Anthony Daniels, who tweeted yesterday that he’s completed his last day on set as C3P0.

It’s quite the touching message, though:

Check out that little bit of hype-building right there. Daniels has been a part of every single Star Wars film in the main saga, so his saying that Episode IX is “something exceptional” should carry a little more weight.

Additionally, the apparent fact that Daniels is wrapping up relatively late in the film may suggest that Threepio has a little more screen time in Episode IX. This isn’t to say that we need an entire Threepio subplot, but he’s been curiously lacking even in moments of comedic relief through The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

Meanwhile, John Boyega also provided some news about where he is. It’s not quite as definitive as Daniels’ tweet, but it does provide a little context:

Based on the fact that he plays one of the main characters, we’d expect Boyega to wrap up close to the end of filming, if not at the very end. Additionally, this lines up with reports from last week that Adam Driver is still working on the film, although he’s put in a few appearances at the Sundance Film Festival this week.

Although the end of filming doesn’t necessarily mean a trailer is immediately on the way, it does mean that there’s plenty of footage to put one together. Fans have already put a pin in this year’s Star Wars Celebration as a prime time to drop the first trailer, as The Last Jedi did back in 2017, and with that in April, that means there’s plenty of time to choose what to reveal and what to hide.

Do we think that it’ll be as secretive as Avengers: Endgame’s marketing is being? Almost certainly not, although we suspect plenty of action and little in the way of dialogue aside from the most cryptic of lines to obfuscate as much as possible. We’re thinking more in line with Avengers: Infinity War‘s marketing, in other words. Remember that fake shot of the Hulk charging into battle?

Don’t be surprised if we figure out something like that was faked for Episode IX, too, come Dec. 20.