J.J. Abrams likes his mystery box so much that even when he makes an announcement, he still doesn't make an announcement.  But it does appear that Star Wars: Episode VII is shooting partially in the IMAX format.  I say "partially" because Abrams has already confirmed that the film will be shot in 35MM (which we can now take to read as "some of the film will be shot in 35MM"), leaving ostensibly the rest to be photographed in the 70MM IMAX format.

Today he tweeted a picture from set (from what appears to be the Abu Dhabi location for Tatooine a few months back; it certainly isn't Pinewood) with a clear shot of an IMAX camera in play containing the hashtag #bestformatever.  Hit the jump for more on the Star Wars Episode 7 IMAX front.

Not only is Abrams partial to the format (Star Trek Into Darkness shot quite a few scenes in IMAX), it makes sense that he really wants to do as much as he can to get away from the prequels visually and make this its own movie.  There was already the report that the film would at least be exhibited in IMAX, but still there was never any confirmation until Abrams' tweet today.

We reached out to an IMAX rep for comment and they replied, "Yes, it is confirmed."  When asked if the film would be (a longshot) shooting solely in IMAX they replied, "All we can confirm at this time is that they are using the IMAX cameras for the film." I think it's safe to say the film will be part 35MM, part IMAX.

There you have it.  Now let's hope they make the best use of that 2 week hiatus in August and that Harrison Ford recovers properly.  It would be a bummer to see an already troubled development process undergo yet another setback.  This franchise doesn't need another subpar installment.