The critically acclaimed Star Wars series, Andor, is currently still in the midst of filming despite the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. Today the production started setting up for a shoot at a location previously used for Naboo in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
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Today a Redditor by the name of Mostvaluedplayer1029 took to the site to share two images on filming preparations taking place at Hever Castle, Kent in England. We’ve known that Andor season two was set to film at this location since February, with MakingStarWars.net that filming at Hever Castle was planned for June. I informed MSW ahead of their exclusive report at the time that Hever Castle was a location previously used for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The Phantom Menace production filmed for one day at the location back in 1997, using the Italian Loggia which features a large marble fountain. Unfortunately those scenes did not make the final cut of the flick, but can be seen in the deleted scenes featured below.
At the time of the MSW report, Andor filming scenes at Hever Castle, a location used for Naboo in The Phantom Menace, raised questions and speculation regarding an appearance of Naboo in the Star Wars series. When I captured pictures of the large set being built at Pinewood Studios, London back in December, some questioned at the time if the set being constructed was Naboo due to the architecture. However the person who captured images of pre-production taking place at Hever Castle claims to have spoken with a security guard part of the production and informed the Redditor that the series was planning to use the location for Naboo as Star Wars once did in 1997, seemingly confirming our past speculation.
The specific part of the castle that pre-production is taking place is that of the Italian Loggia, the same part used for The Phantom Menace. Onlookers can see marble fountain being covered in a tarp in the image above. Despite the Redditors claims, the fact that the production is using the exact same spot with instantly recognisable architecture is likely reason enough to conclude that Andor season two will feature the beloved Naboo location.
Over the weekend the Andor season two production filmed scenes featuring the Empire at Canary Wharf, London, which you can see images of here and here. The location was previously used in Andor season one for the ISB headquarters. In addition to filming at Hever Castle and Canary Wharf, the production has ventured across various parts of the United Kingdom, including Wales, and even ventured to Valencia, Spain since filming on the highly anticipated second season began in November. Though the WGA strike has hampered multiple productions, Andor has continued to shoot despite the strike as the series creator, Tony Gilroy, concluded his writing duties on the second and final season mere days before the strike began, and stepped away from his production duties after being being accused of scabbing by a fellow WGA member.
Andor season two will release in August of 2024, and filming on the series will conclude in August of this year. Season one of the critically acclaimed series is currently streaming on Disney+.
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