STAR WARS: Kerry set for superstardom
THE wait is almost over. At midnight tonight ( Wednesday) fans around the world will finally get to see the latest instalment in the Star Wars film saga.
Across the globe, fans of the blockbuster franchise are champing at the bit to see The Last Jedi but there are few places where the level of excitement matches that seen in Kerry.
The Kingdom is set for a starring role in the film and scenes filmed on Skellig Michael and Ceann Sibéal are set to feature prominently in the movie.
Skellig Michael – which provides the backdrop for the planet Ahch-To in the films – was glimpsed briefly in the closing minutes of the last Star Wars film, The Force Awakens.
However the island – and Ceann Sibéal which doubled for the Skelligs during filming in 2016 – will play a much larger role in The Last Jedi and Kerry’s stunning scenery is expected to be the setting for much of the film’s opening acts.
In the Star Wars universe Ahch-To is the home of the franchise hero Luke Skywalker – played by Mark Hamill – who is in self-imposed exile on the island until he is tracked down by the film series’ new hero ‘Rey’ (Daisy Ridley’s). Luke will spend much of the movie training Rey in and around Skellig Michael’s famous monastery and on a replica of the ancient structure which was built at Ceann Sibéal.
Ahead of the film’s release Disney Lucasfilm released a new behind the scenes video which gives a glimpse into what happened when the Star Wars crew rolled into Kerry for the brief Skellig shoot in September 2015 and for two weeks’ filming in West Kerry in May 2016.
No full reviews of the film have been published yet but early reactions on Twitter have been extremely positive.
2015’s Force Awakens – the third most successful film of all time – was seen by some 60 million people worldwide.
With The Last Jedi expected to shatter that record, Kerry is set for global exposure the likes of which the county has never seen before.