Imagine this: It's early 1977, and director George Lucas is able to magically take curious would-be moviegoers on an immersive tour of the desert planet from his forthcoming movie -- something called Star Wars -- from the hot seat of Luke Skywalker's landspeeder.
Lucas couldn't do that, but J.J. Abrams and company can do something very similar. Industrial Light and Magic helped produce this interactive trip through the desert planet of Jakku. You might know it better as the place with the fallen Star Destroyers, one of the main locations from the forthcoming Episode VII in the Star Wars saga, The Force Awakens -- now less than 100 days away from theaters.
Even cooler, says Lucasfilm, is the fact that this is supposed to be the speeder belonging to Rey -- the movie's scavenger hero with a mystery past, played by Daisy Ridley.
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ILM is, of course, the special effects wing of the Lucasfilm empire, now itself part of the Disney empire. The company is consistently on the cutting edge of immersive experiences -- and is currently a pioneer in the realm of virtual movie sets where CGI characters can be manipulated in real-time.
The ILM technology was developed for a now defunct game called Star Wars 1313, but has since become a prototype product for directors as well as game makers. "If you combine video games with film-making techniques, you can start to have these real deep, multi-user experiences," Lucasfilm's technology chief said during a demonstration of this technology in London.
Here's the demo:
So it makes sense that Facebook tapped ILM to create one of its showcase 360-degree video experiences. It's the kind of thing you can watch over and over again, looking different ways each time, scouring the desert of Jakku for clues to the storyline of the new movie.
You'll no doubt spot what appears to be a flyer with what looks like an angry desert-dweller shaking its fist -- while sounding distinctly like a Wookiee -- and at least one native Jakku creature at the end of the trip.
This is just the latest tease from a puckish company that has spent the last year casually dropping details from the new movie in all sorts of unexpected locations, from Instagram videos to magazine photo captions to the voice boxes of plastic toys.
It's a strategy that has consistently surprised and delighted fans, and this video is no different:
This is like Google Street View Jakku. I totally expected to see someone sunbathing or taking their trash out. https://t.co/SDtRBB68cc— Mediocre Jedi (@MediocreJedi) September 23, 2015
Goodbye world. If you need me, I'll be zooming through the sands of Jakku for the rest of the day.— Bria (@chaosbria) September 23, 2015
Only thing that would make the 360 degree ride around Jakku on Rey's speeder better. Having Daisey ride with you. https://t.co/gQz9Mp4Q0A— Pete Morrison (@ThePeteAwakens) September 23, 2015