Now that Disney and Lucasfilm have secured Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s home video release (spoilers: it’ll be with us on March 27th, two weeks after its debut on Digital HD), a VFX breakdown of the film’s opening battle scene has surfaced onto the interwebs.
As reported by /Film, this is essentially a showcase of Industrial Light & Magic’s technical wizardry – and what a showcase it is. From those initial drawings right through until the final design, The Last Jedi‘s space battle was crafted with a staggering amount of care and craft, as we see the lone Resistance bomber inflicting a huge amount of damage on the First Order. And once those bombs begin to drop, you’ll see the Dreadnought collapsing in a dizzying fireworks display
Indeed, it’s small wonder why The Last Jedi is in the running for Best Visual Effects at the 2018 Oscars, where it will be competing against Kong: Skull Island, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, War For the Planet of the Apes and the hot favorite, Blade Runner 2049.
Expect this VFX analysis to be included in Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s Blu-ray, which will also come packing the following bonus content:
The Director and the Jedi – Go deep behind the scenes with writer-director Rian Johnson on an intimate and personal journey through the production of the movie—and experience what it’s like to helm a global franchise and cultural phenomenon.
Balance of the Force – Explore the mythology of the Force and why Rian Johnson chose to interpret its role in such a unique way.
Andy Serkis Live! (One Night Only) – Writer-director Rian Johnson presents two exclusive sequences from the movie featuring Andy Serkis’ riveting, raw on-set performance before his digital makeover into Snoke.
Deleted Scenes – With an introduction and optional commentary by writer-director Rian Johnson.
Audio Commentary – View the movie with in-depth feature audio commentary by writer-director Rian Johnson.
Scene Breakdowns
- Lighting the Spark: Creating the Space Battle – Get a close-up look at the epic space battle, from the sounds that help propel the action, through the practical and visual effects, to the characters who bring it all to life.
- Snoke and Mirrors – Motion capture and Star Wars collide as the filmmakers take us through the detailed process of creating the movie’s malevolent master villain.
- Showdown on Crait – Break down everything that went into creating the stunning world seen in the movie’s final confrontation, including the interplay between real-word locations and visual effects, reimagining the walkers, designing the crystal foxes, and much more.
Elsewhere in Lucasfilm’s Star Wars franchise, we now have confirmation that J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio have a script in place for Episode IX, with filming expected to commence towards the end of July.