Abu Dhabi, both the city and the greater emirate, is not new to hosting movie makers.

But it seems fair to say that never before have two movies as prominent as these in production around Abu Dhabi at the same time.

And those would be the seventh episode of the Star Wars franchise, due for release next year, and Fast & Furious 7, also scheduled to come out next year.

And both shooting in Abu Dhabi.

First, the more sensational of the two:

That would be the Star Wars work, which was cloaked in secrecy until uncovered by The National.

One of the newspaper’s photographers was in the Liwa Oasis area of Abu Dhabi, deep in the desert, on the edge of the Empty Quarter as well as the border with Saudi Arabia.

The photographer saw some odd things going on around a huge tent pitched near the luxury hotel there, and took photos of it.

The newspaper published the photos, with speculation that it had to do with the next Star Wars movie, which launched a torrent of online visits and comments from global Star Wars fans, who helped identify some of the props caught on camera.

Finally, over the weekend, a Disney executive — and Disney bought Lucasfilm, maker of the first six movies — confirmed that, yes, shooting was going on in the desert south of the UAE capital. He called it a “second-unit” shoot focused on getting a “Star Wars-ian look” — perhaps of the desert planet Tatooine, fans have speculated.

That fact has not yet entered the wiki page of Episode VII. But it has been announced that Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher would be in No. 7, which makes sense, since the three of them appeared in episode VI — which was the third of the first trilogy released.

Also in town, and not as secretive, are the Fast & Furious crew, who have finished a week of shooting in and around Abu Dhabi, city of.

Some members of the shoot, mostly set at the posh Emirates Palace, as can be seen in this photo gallery, got out and around a bit, particularly Tyrese Gibson, who performed in a concert in Dubai, up the road from Abu Dhabi.

That movie franchise, which is about 1 percent as sophisticated as the Star Wars series, is mostly about musclemen and muscle cars.

Followers of the series wonder how the producers will work around the death of co-star Paul Walker, who was killed in a car crash in Los Angeles in November.

Why are producers coming to the UAE?

Possible reasons:

1. The country is offering tax rebates for studios who shoot here.

2. The UAE generally can offer a high degree of privacy, and many film crews want just that.

3. The UAE is remarkably safe, while also offering First World housing and attractions.

If you, as a flim auteur, want lots of bling, or you want real desert … this is where you go.