Harrison Ford: Star Wars 7 actor 'hoping to announce some good news soon' following accident on set

The 71-year-old actor is on the mend but could still miss up to eight weeks of filming

The 71-year-old broke his ankle in an accident at Pinewood Studios ( Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty)

The cloud that has descended over the Star Wars: Episode VII production schedule may have a silver lining - Harrison Ford is set to announce some “good news” after being hospitalised following an accident on set.

The 71-year-old was airlifted to hospital after a hydraulic door fell on him and broke his ankle while he was filming the new movie at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.

But over the weekend a publicist told Sky News they were “hoping to announce some good news soon.“

Ford’s wife, the Ally McBeal actress Calista Flockhart, flew from the US to be by her husband’s side a spokesman told The Telegraph.

However, although Ford is on the mend, he could still miss up to eight weeks of filming.

A source told the Mirror: “The initial day or two after the accident it was hard to move things around but now we have had more time we can juggle things, bring some scenes forward and push others back. There are lots of other actors in the movie so it is not a disaster. We are still confident the film can stay on schedule.

“At the moment it looks like Harrison is going to be off set for six to eight weeks but the main priority is making sure he is OK.”

Ford is reprising his role as Han Solo in JJ Abrams' sequel, which will be the first Star Wars title released by Disney, after creator George Lucas sold the rights to the franchise in 2012. Due to reach cinemas in December 2015, it is understood that the film will be set 30 years after the events in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, the third Star Wars film to be released.

Episode VII will also see the return of the three principal characters from the original trilogy, reuniting Ford with Mark Hamill, playing Luke Skywalker, and Carrie Fisher, playing Princess Leia.