With the cast announced, the first official table read of the script out of the way, and a set that’s just about completed in Abu Dhabi, all the pieces have come together for Star Wars: Episode VII to begin filming. When, exactly, is principal photography set to begin? Tomorrow!

According to The National, the production is set to begin 3 weeks of shooting on location, using the sets that have been being built there for over a month now. Cast members have all ready been spotted near the locale, practicing driving the vehicles they’ll be using for some of the scenes there. The site’s sources also claim that an effects crew has arrived that is going to set up some sort of grand explosion. Two trucks of explosives have made their to the set, to be exact. 

“Our sources also report that the sets are getting closer to completion, with a ‘whole world’ having been built on an otherworldly salt lake at one location, a ‘shuttle-like’ spacecraft, a large tower, a ‘big, centuries-old-looking market,’ something the crew are reportedly referring to as the ‘alien house,’ and 10 to 15 ‘really fast buggies’ powered by jet engines.”

So this is it, boys and girls. The wait is just about over. The cameras are set to roll, the actors are ready to rock, and Star Wars: Episode VII is about to finally become a reality. And you’ve got to love the brass set on Abrams. Flying in the face of George Lucas’s approach with the prequels, he’s using real sets and conventional effects- even running the risk of sandstorms damaging the Abu Dhabi set and delaying the production. He’s doing things the old-fashioned way, and that instills confidence in me. How about you?