80 million see Skellig in new Star Wars clip

THE new trailer for the latest Star Wars film ‘The Last Jedi’ – a large portion of which was filmed at Skellig Michael and Ceann Sibéal in west Kerry – is taking the internet by storm.

The two minute trailer – which features Skellig Michael prominently but briefly – was released at 3am on Tuesday morning. Within 15 hours it had been viewed over 80 million times on producers Disney Lucasfilm’s YouTube, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Tens of millions more watched and shared the clip on other entertainment sites and social media pages.

The Skelligs and Ceann Sibéall – which serve as the planet Ahch-To in the Star Wars universe – are expected to provide the backdrop for much of the eagerly anticipated film’s opening act.

Both locations received significant exposure in previous trailers however this latest clip focuses less on scenes shot in Kerry. Several scenes apparently shot on replica ‘Skellig’ sets built at Pinewood studios did make the cut. The film is due to hit Irish cinema screens on December 15.