Oscars VFX Reels Show Off the Magic Behind ‘The Last Jedi’

The one thing that both lovers and haters of The Last Jedi can agree on is that the visual effects were absolutely amazing. And why shouldn't they have been? The film had a budget well north of $200 million, of course the effects were incredible. The film is up for four Oscars at next Sunday's ceremony and it's gonna have a tough time in all four categories, especially visual effects. That's why Industrial Light and Magic put together these two visual effects reels to show off all the work that went into creating seamless images on screen out of thin air.

While these videos aren't as comprehensive as the ones we're sure to get on the upcoming Blu-ray, they do at least give you a sense of what these shots looked like before they added in the effects. It's cool to see a handful of Stormtroopers become an entire army and actors performing in front of a green screen suddenly dropped into outer space.

The other films nominated for the visual effects Academy Award this year are War for the Planet of the Apes, Kong: Skull Island, Blade Runner 2049, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. That's some damn stiff competition. My money's on either Blade Runner 2049 or War for the Planet of the Apes, though I think the apes have the edge due to how incredible that film's effects were and how much they improved over the course of three films. I imagine it's only two or three years from now that we have a new category: Best Achievement in Visual Effects in an Andy Serkis Movie.