Industrial Light and Magic is a VFX company that needs no introduction. Founded by George Lucas in ’75 – just prior to the release of Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977 – the production house has since worked across iconic cinematic franchises, including Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and James Cameron’s Terminator series, to name but three.
Late last year, ILM was tasked with bringing Gareth Edwards’ vision to life in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and thanks to an all-new VFX breakdown, you’ll be able to get a sense of how those jaw-dropping effects shots came to be. Though it’s made up mostly of many of the same interviews that dropped online prior to Rogue One‘s release in December, this new featurette arrives in good time for the 89th Academy Awards, where Edwards’ standalone pic is nominated in two categories: Best Achievement in Sound Mixing and Best Achievement in Visual Effects. It faces stiff competition, of course, but we all know how strong the Force tends to be when it comes to overcoming the odds, right?
Rogue One launched into theaters back in December and despite negative buzz during the summer months regarding extensive reshoots, it turned out to be a resounding success for Disney. How successful, you ask? Well, aside from the glowing critical reviews, the spinoff now also sits in the $1 billion club in terms of box office gross, proving to be very profitable for the House of Mouse. Not bad for a film that some deemed to be unnecessary when it was first announced. Whether the next Anthology movie, which is centered around Han Solo, can emulate that success remains to be seen, but things certainly look promising so far.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is currently on course to hit Blu-ray and Digital HD in April. It’s shaping up to be a busy month for Disney’s rebooted franchise, too, what with the annual Star Wars Celebration event booked in for April 13th. Surely then the Mouse House will unveil our first look at Star Wars: The Last Jedi, right? Time will tell, but December 15th is the date for your diaries if you’re hoping to catch Rian Johnson’s outing in the iconic franchise.