Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams has said he felt “honoured” to film scenes for the new film on Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast.
The director, who worked with our very own Domhnall Gleeson on the movie, said that out of all of the location options that they had, nothing could compare to what Skellig Michael had to offer.
“They brought us a ton of images of various places – as location managers do – and there were incredible options but nothing that touched what Skellig Michael offered.
Honor: J.J. says it was an honor to film on the beautiful Skellig Michael | TWITTER
“The question was, would we be able to shoot there and the Irish film commission was extraordinarily cooperative and eager and helpful.
“There were people I knew who had been involved in Irish film making and they were very helpful and told us what we might expect shooting there,” he told RTÉ TEN.
The 49-year-old also revealed that the scenes shot on Skellig Michael are certainly some of the most visually stunning scenes in the movie.
“We got to go there and film a sequence which I think is certainly visually one of the most stunning in the movie.
Irish talent: J.J. worked with Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux) on the movie
“I don’t know how much people will believe until they visit Skellig themselves how much was just there and natural and built all those years ago.
“We were just honoured to be allowed to film there. We were as respectful as possible because we knew it was a sacred place,” he added.
The news comes as dressed-up Star Wars fans took over Dublin City on Wednesday night for special midnight screenings of the film, while the Spire was lit up like a giant lightsaber in honor of the films release.
