Movies

Star Wars Episode IX To Shoot On Film, And Possibly In Outer Space (For Real)

colin trevorrow talks star wars episode 9
By Peter Sciretta

Colin Trevorrow is gearing up to direct the ninth installment of Star Wars, and he wants to shoot the movie using film, not digital, cameras. The Jurassic World filmmaker also has been investigating if Star Wars: Episode 9 could be the first narrative feature film to actually shoot in outer space, for real. Hit the jump to learn more about the Star Wars 9 film plans.

Trevorrow appeared at a panel called "Power of Story: The Art of Film" alongside Christopher Nolan and Rachel Morrison, moderated by Alex Ross Perry, during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in Park City Utah. During the panel Trevorrow explained why he believes that period films should be shot on film and not digitally. Here is the quote via THR:

"The only place where I tend to not be able to attach myself entirely to something shot digitally is when it's a period film. There's something in my brain that goes, 'Well, they didn't have video cameras then,'" he said. "[Film] tends to remind us of our memories, of our childhoods, the way we used to see films."

Trevorrow jokingly explained that his upcoming project Star Wars: Episode IX will be shot on film for the same reason: It "gets back to my issue of shooting digital for period films. I could never shoot Star Wars on anything but [film] because it's a period film: It happened a long time ago!"

Of course the reason is a fun one, but anyone who has seen Star Wars knows that it has more of a futuristic rather than period aesthetic. I am glad that Trevorrow is going to shoot Star Wars 9 on film, as J.J. Abrams shot Star Wars: The Force Awakens on 35mm and Rian Johnson will also be shooting on the non-digital format for Star Wars Episode VIII. It seems right to continue the series on the same format to give a unifying esthetic. Trevor row also revealed that he is aiming for "scope 35 or 65" for Episode IX.

Almost three years ago I tweeted out the following question:

Movies like Apollo 13 have used airplanes like the KC- 135 (nicknamed the "Vomit Comet") to achieve real weightlessness, but no narrative feature film has yet to film in outer space. As ridiculous as it sounds, apparently Trevorrow is actually researching if he can shoot some of Episode 9 "on location" in outer space.

"I asked the question, 'Is it possible for us to shoot IMAX film plates in actual space for Star Wars, and I haven't gotten an answer yet, but they've shot IMAX in space!"

Christopher Nolan responded that he also looked into outer space filming for Interstellar:

"Funny enough, we had that conversation with Interstellar," said Nolan. "There's incredible footage from space now."

I'm sure many films have used galactic photography from Earth-bound telescopes. Has a film ever used photography from the Hubble Space Telescope which has been orbiting outside of Earth's atmosphere since 1990?

I think it would be cool if a Star Wars film would be the first to use photography from outer space. It sounds like Trevorrow is just investigating plates, which means background shots. So we're still years away from seeing a film with actors being filmed in outer space. IMAX has filmed documentary films in space with astronauts, like the 2002 film Space Station 3D.

Trevorrow's comments also seem to confirm that Episode 9 will again have some IMAX photography, which shouldn't be much of a surprise considering Disney's deal with the IMAX corporation.

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