Fans of the Star Wars franchise can start rejoicing, as Star Wars: Episode VII has already begun filming, according to Alan Horn, chairman for Disney Studios.

Stephen Galloway of THR interviewed Horn in front of an audience at the Loyola Marymount School of Film and Television for the “Hollywood Masters” series. There have been reports that filming for the movie is scheduled to start in May, but Horn says otherwise. “We’re actually shooting some of it now,” he said.

There have also been some rumors that filming has started in Cairo, Egypt. Horn may be referring to the shooting of the second unit, which is in charge of filming B-rolls and location shots to be used for the film. However, this is not yet confirmed, as Horn did not disclose other details.

Fire up the lightsabers! @Disney chief says Star Wars VII is filming: http://t.co/VnkGHLsPIi Casting nearly complete pic.twitter.com/7preLRCpxh

— Yahoo (@Yahoo) April 6, 2014

Shooting for the film may have started, but shooting with the actors is not yet ongoing, as there have been no formal announcements regarding the cast. Horn also said that the screenplay, which was written by Lawrence Kasdan and director J.J. Abrams, is already finished. “It’s actually there now,” Horn said.

The screenplay was based on a draft written by Michael Arndt, the writer for Toy Story 3 and Little Miss Sunshine. Rumors have been spreading about the participation of the original cast members in the new film, including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher.

Horn has confirmed that Episode VII will take place just after the events of Episode VI, which will be 35 years ago when the movie is released next year. Fans are speculating that the original cast members will be passing the torch to three members of the younger generation, who are yet to be named.

Since Abrams is all about mystery when telling stories in the big screen, fans will just have to wait for the official announcement of actors who will be playing lead roles.

Image via YouTube