Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

No, Disney Is Not Using Drone Warfare to Keep Prying Eyes From ‘Star Wars’ Set

Too good to be true!

Disney / YouTube

Sometimes, the headline is just too good to be true.

That’s the case with a flurry of headlines Monday that said Disney was deploying an army of drones to protect the set of the upcoming “Star Wars” movie from spies using other drones.

Gizmodo, Popular Mechanics, The Next Web, Making Star Wars and a number of other outlets cited a report from the Croatian fan site MosCroatia that is said to outline Disney’s multimillion-dollar effort to fend off drone spies with a drone army of its own. A source close to the production told Re/code that “the reports are untrue.”

Though the drone story might be false, Disney has gone to great lengths to keep any secrets about the “Star Wars” movies from leaking. There were no early screenings for outsiders of “The Force Awakens” prior to its Dec. 14 world premiere. Actors cast in that movie (like Oscar Isaac) had to read the physical script in a camera-filled room. And director J.J. Abrams was quite loud about how he didn’t want any plot spoilers to get to the press.

The next “Star Wars” movie, the eighth installment in the sprawling, decades-long space opera started by George Lucas back in the 1970s, doesn’t have a name yet. It’s being directed by Rian Johnson, who also made the excellent movies “Brick” and “Looper.” It’s being filmed in Croatia (among other places), and you can watch a very short production announcement of the movie below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQQMLE4FuIQ

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh