Scenes from the much-anticipated new Star Wars movie will be filmed on Skellig Michael.

The world heritage site off the coast of Kerry has been revealed as the location for some of the scenes of the new movie, the first to be helmed by someone other than George Lucas.

JJ Abrams, who breathed new life into Star Trek with the 2009 reboot and 2013 sequel Star Trek: Into Darkness, is busy directing the film which is currently shooting in Pinewood Studios in the UK.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) has confirmed the iconic Kerry site has been made available for a film production shoot on the island and the production is fully supported by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

It is also understood Skellig Michael will not be open to visitors for three days at the end of August to facilitate filming.

The sequel is currently shooting at London's Pinewood Studio and is expected to hit cinemas on 18 December, 2015.

Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) and Carrie Fisher are reprising their roles from the original trilogy.

Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson has also landed a role in the highly anticipated film which will be released on Devember 18 2015.

Online Editors