Star Wars 8 set to be defended by £3m drone army in bid to stop leaks

May the force be with the 600 guards charged with patrolling the set when it relocates to Croatia in March

JJ Abrams suffered problems with drones leaking set photos while filming The Force Awakens (LucasFilm)

Everyone knows that Star Wars secrets are like gold dust, which is exactly why Disney has launched its own drone army to help protect the set from spy cameras and spoilers.

Studio bosses are reportedly forking out £3 million on improved security during filming for Star Wars Episode VIII in a desperate bid to stop any leaks from reaching fans.

The new movie recently started shooting at Pinewood Studios, with filming set to relocate to Croatia in March. There, the cast and crew will be met by a “special team with drones”, 600 guards and 24-hour security, fan site Mos Croatia reports. Without wishing to speculate (who are we kidding?) this could arguably be read as a hint that something especially exciting will be going down on the Dalmatian Coast.

Episode VIII is yet to receive a title but is currently going under the working name Space Bear, because why not? Ryan Johnson’s film is expected to reach cinemas in December next year, following on from JJ Abrams’ box office smash The Force Awakens.

John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill are returning for the next instalment, with Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro also confirmed to join the cast.

Abrams experienced issues with drones while filming The Force Awakens at the Greenham Common RAF base in Berkshire but was limited in what he could do as the site was public property. Fortunately, the few set photos that leaked did not stop the long-awaited movie grossing more than $2 billion worldwide.