While the recent array of photos we’ve been seeing from the set of Star Wars: Episode IX have proven to be a welcome alternative source of info to the endless stream of rumors and speculation, it’s worth remembering that even pics can be misleading.
A couple of days ago, the photo of a partially constructed set of overgrown ruins started circulating online, leading some fans to speculate that this could be the site for an abandoned Jedi temple, or a new, secluded place for The Resistance to set up their base. Unfortunately, such theories proved premature, as it’s now been shown that this image was actually taken from the set of 2011’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Admittedly, the pic had us fooled, and to take this swampy photo from a film that no one’s watched or thought about for seven years was a well-judged feat of fakery.
What made this image especially convincing is that it seemed to slot in pretty well with previous photos from the United Kingdom that suggest a planet with plenty of greenery. While it’s unclear whether this is an old region like Endor or somewhere completely new, we at least know that the Millennium Falcon will be making the trip. Meanwhile, photos from the Wadi Rum region in Jordan suggest a desert location in the vein of Jakku, though it’s also worth noting that this same place was used for the Jedha scenes in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The internet remains a dubious source, but at the very least, we’ll be able to sort the genuine leaks from the fakes when Star Wars: Episode IX comes out on December 20th, 2019.