Filming has begun on 'Star Wars IX' with JJ Abrams sharing first behind-the-scenes look

Filming of the ninth Star Wars movie is now officially underway, with both John Boyega and J.J. Abrams marking the occasion.

The movie’s star and the director dropped pictures on social media yesterday, following the first day on set.

Abrams, in his first ever post on Instagram, published a shot of some pretty technical-looking equipment.

Casting eyes left to the blurred background, we see Boyega’s Finn in a Han Solo-style space waistcoat, standing next to what may be Daisy Ridley’s Rey.

And is that the Millennium Falcon cockpit? Hard to say, but it certainly looks like it.

Captioning the shot, Abrams paid tribute to the late Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, just after wrapping Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

“Bittersweet starting this next chapter without Carrie, but thanks to an extraordinary cast and crew, we are ready to go. Grateful for @riancjohnson and special thanks to George Lucas for creating this incredible world and beginning a story of which we are lucky to be a part,” he wrote.

It’s been confirmed that Fisher will appear in the final movie, thanks to footage shot during the making of The Last Jedi, with director Rian Johnson.

Johnson responded to Abrams’ on Twitter with a simple gif of Harrison Ford’s Han Solo giving a hand off salute.

Meanwhile, Boyega dropped a pic of an embrace between him and new cast-member Naomi Ackie.

He also reposted Abrams’ pic, adding: “First day done with @jjabramsofficial leading ! It was dope!”

Boyega was also sporting a new hair-do, which appears to signal a new look for his lapsed Stormtrooper turned rebel hero.

Star Wars IX will begin with a considerable time jump from the events of The Last Jedi, according to reports, which would likely necessitate a possible change of image.

Anthony Daniels, who’s played C-3PO in every live action Star Wars film, bar Solo: A Star Wars Story, also revealed that he’d been on set for the first day of filming, although he says he was not acting, just observing.

But other than that, we’re in the dark about where the final chapter in the latest trilogy will take us, and with cast and crew sworn to secrecy on pain of death, things will remain that way for some time to come.

It’s set for release in December, 2019.

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