The movie was announced after Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm in October 2012. It is produced by Ram Bergman and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. John Williams, composer for the previous seven films, returned to compose the score. Scenes that required shooting at Skellig Michael in Ireland were filmed during pre-production in September 2015, with principal photography beginning at Pinewood Studios in England in February 2016 and ending in July 2016.