Star Wars: Dominic Monaghan Begins Filming ‘Episode IX’

Filming has finally begun on the final installment of the Skywalker Saga, with Star Wars: Episode IX set to come out at the end of 2019.

The new movie will introduce a lot of new faces to the Star Wars franchise, including a few frequent collaborators of director J.J. Abrams. One such actor is excited to get to work, and just revealed that he’s begun filming on Episode IX.

Lost star Dominic Monaghan was recently announced as joining the cast, and the actor posted about his stint in the galaxy far, far away.

Monaghan’s involvement was announced just a week ago, and the actor expressed his joy to re-team with Lost producer Abrams in the Star Wars franchise.

“The galaxy far far away has had almost as much influence as the one I live in, so I am delighted to be involved,” Monaghan said.

Monaghan is joining newcomers such as Richard E. Grant, Naomi Ackie, Matt Smith, and Keri Russell. Russell is coming off an acclaimed run in the FX series The Americans, which is generating Emmy buzz after the final season just wrapped up.

Russell too has worked with Abrams before, as she was the title character in the teen drama Felicity, which was created with The Batman director Matt Reeves. She also appeared alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III, which was also directed by Abrams.

“It is just so much more fun to work with someone that you like so much,” Russell told Deadline about reuniting with Abrams. “I mean, we see each other and then we talk nonstop and fill in all the details of the past years, and you know, it’s just nice when you have that kind of fun and history with someone. It makes it all that much more enjoyable. When J.J. calls so unexpectedly, cool things happen.”

We’ll get to see the newcomers mix it up with franchise veterans Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, and Adam Driver when Star Wars: Episode IX premieres in theaters in December 2019.