Visual effects designers are the unsung heroes of the Star Wars franchise. And in honor of Star Wars Day, Rian Johnson is paying tribute to the technical wizards who worked with him on Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Earlier today, Johnson shared a new behind-the-scenes video that shows a member of his VFX crew rehearsing a key scene from the film. You can check it out for yourself below.
Chris Corbould testing the practical (!!) effect his team created for TLJ. Happy #maythefourthbewithyou to all the incredible technicians who pull stuff like this off over the years, and to the best fans in the galaxy. pic.twitter.com/rYd3h1NShm
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) May 4, 2021
In the video, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould preps the scene where Luke Skywalker finds Rey sitting inside one of the huts on Ahch-To, where she’s using the Force to speak to Kylo Ren. As anyone who’s seen the movie knows, Luke put a stop to their long-distance communication by blasting the hut’s wall to smithereens.
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But surprisingly, this effect wasn’t accomplished through the use of CGI. Instead, Corbould’s team rigged a setup that allowed them to pull the wall apart manually. During the rehearsal, Corbould (bravely) stood in for Mark Hamill as chunks of debris flew past him. The camera crew, on the other hand, was protected by a large sheet of plexiglass.
The Last Jedi may have split Star Wars fans down the middle. Regardless, Johnson is still part of the Lucasfilm family. As far as we know, he’s still developing his own trilogy of Star Wars movies for the studio. These films won’t have any connection to the Skywalker Saga that finally ended with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. However, it’s been a long time since Johnson or the studio shared an update about their status.
What do you think of Johnson’s new video? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi
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