A New 'Star Wars' Digital Effects Video Is Here

It's kind of hard to believe, but Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered last December, which, you know, is nearly a whole damn year ago. And while the the movie hype was rife before, during, and for quite awhile after the film's debut, as new things in other franchises come into the fold, the Star Wars mania died down a bit. Which, is kind of a soul crushing blow to everyone who wants to talk all things Star Wars all the time and are feeling some type of way about the lack of recent news. If you are one of those particular people, fear not. As per Entertainment Weekly, a new Star Wars: The Force Awakens digital effects video has been released, and it is just the thing to stave off the Star Wars drought between Rogue One spoilers.

What does this saving grace video include, exactly? Well, I'm so glad that you asked. It reveals the behind-the-scenes workings of how the special effects team wildly changes the movie until we get the final, polished product. Like, for instance, how green screens turn into desertscapes and grand, intricate spaceships, and how most of the otherworldly creatures are completely computerized machinations. And, as EW points out, it shows things like the fact that, "Rey’s Speeder was a real device, but it had four wheels and a chassis that effects artists had to remove digitally to create the illusion it was floating above the desert floor."

It's awe inspiring and fascinating to see the juxtaposition of the scenes with effects and without, especially as the digital effects studio, Industrial Light & Magic, present the changes as a fluid, progressive movement.

The other especially cool thing about this unprecedented inside glimpse? We get to see our friends, like Rey, Poe, and Finn, in the flesh once again — and in a different, albeit grittier, way then we see them in the movie. The video affords us the opportunity to witness their characters come to life in a whole new, bare bones kind of way. And, surprisingly, the lack of visuals doesn't take away from the actors performances even in the slightest.

See? Just when you thought that you ran out of new Star Wars: The Force Awakens conversation talking points, this pops up. This film is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

Image: ILMVisualFX/YouTube