“Star Wars” Episode VIII” has officially started filming and there are a number of notable additions to the cast. Benicio del Toro and Laura Dern were reportedly the latest stars to be included in the next chapter, per Wired.

Academy Award winner del Toro, Academy Award nominee Dern and Kelly Marie Tran are the latest additions to “Episode VIII,” which is directed by Rian Johnson. Del Toro previously appeared in “Sicario” and also took on the role of The Collector in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Dern previously worked on “Wild” and “Enlightened.” Tran is a newcomer, whose role has not yet been revealed.

According to Hitfix, Del Toro is set to start shooting in England in spring 2016. Handpicked by the director for the role, del Toro did not share much details about his character, except that he will most likely play a villain. He added that the possibility of starring in the upcoming movie was nerve-wracking, although he was very pleased to be a part of it.

Lucasfilm made the casting announcement together with a short video teaser, which showed that filming has already started at Pinewood Studios in London on Feb. 15, 2016. The video features the first day on set included shooting scenes immediately after the final scenes in “Episode VII: The Force Awakens.” The footage also showcased an updated version of a familiar theme song by John Williams.

There are also several returning cast members in “Episode VIII,” including Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Anthony Daniels and Andy Serkis, per the Star Wars' website.

“Star Wars: Episode VIII” is produced by Ram Bergman and Kathleen Kennedy. The executive producers are J.J. Abrams, Tom Karnowski and Jason McGatlin. Steve Yedlin is the director of photography, Bob Ducsay is the editor, Rick Heinrichs is the production designer, Mary Vernieu is the U.S. casting director and Nina Gold is the U.K. casting director. Hair and make-up us by Peter Swords King while Pippa Anderson will act as the co-producer and vice president of post production. Neal Scanlan is the creature and droid FX creative supervisor, Michael Kaplan is costume designer and Jamie Wilkinson is prop master. Ben Morris is VFX supervisor, Chris Corbould is SFX supervisor and Rob Inch is stunt coordinator.

“Star Wars: Episode VIII” is set to launch on Dec. 15, 2017. More updates and details are expected soon.