Does An Icleandic Location Shoot For STAR WARS: EPISODE 7 Signal A Return To Hoth?

A report that some location shooting for J J Abrams’ upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII may be done in Norway has almost invariably lead to speculation that this means the still-under-wraps storyline will take its heroes and audiences back to the ice-covered planet Hoth last seen in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

The news that launched the speculation is coming from Icelandic site visir.is (via Metro News) which is stating that –

the crew will be heading for the Scandinavian nation this Spring ahead of the main production kicking off in May… The site reports that Iceland will be used mainly for filming landscape ‘plate shots’ which will then be used for scenery – although the news has sparked speculation that the movie could be partly set on the ice planet Hoth.

The original location for filming the scenes on Hoth for The Empire Strikes Back was in Norway.

Personally, I hope that the new trilogy will steer clear of places we’ve already seen in the Star Wars universe in favor of taking us to new and exciting worlds. I’ve always found it hard that a supposedly backwater planet like Tattoine continued to play a pivotal role in the entire sage and returning to an even more out of the way place like Hoth would strain that credulity even further.

Besides, Iceland does offer more than just snow-covered landscapes. Films such as Batman Begins, Prometheus and Thor: The Dark World have all shot there in recent years and really only Batman Begins was there for the snow. Hopefully, if it is true that Abrams is looking at Iceland for a shooting location