• TikTok
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Star Wars Kids
Star Wars Logo

Search

My Account Logout
  • More More
    • NEWS + FEATURES
      • THE LATEST
      • ANDOR
      • CELEBRATION
      • QUIZZES + POLLS
      • BOOKS + COMICS
    • VIDEO
      • ALL VIDEO
      • THIS WEEK! IN STAR WARS
    • FILMS
    • SERIES
      • All Series
      • Andor
      • Skeleton Crew
      • Ahsoka
      • The Mandalorian
    • GAMES + INTERACTIVE
      • View All
      • Star Wars Outlaws
      • Games + Apps
      • VR + Immersive
    • DATABANK
      • ALL DATABANK
      • ERAS
    • DISNEY+
      • STREAM NOW
      • EXPLORE
      • THE DISNEY BUNDLE
Local Nav | Drop-Down Phase III - 20231020
Local Nav | Drop-Down Phase III - 20231020
My Account Logout
  • other
  • instagram
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • youtube
  • other

All

  • Andor
  • Star Wars Celebration
  • Skeleton Crew
  • The Mandalorian
  • Ahsoka
  • The Acolyte
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi
  • The Book of Boba Fett
  • The Bad Batch
  • The Clone Wars
  • Visions
  • Behind the Scenes
  • Books + Comics
  • Characters + Histories
  • Collecting
  • Creativity
  • Disney Parks
  • Disney+
  • Events
  • Fans + Community
  • Films
  • Games + Apps
  • ILM
  • Interviews
  • LEGO Star Wars
  • Lucasfilm
  • Merchandise
  • Opinions
  • Quizzes + Polls
  • Recipes
  • Rogue One
  • Solo
  • Star Wars Day
  • Star Wars Rebels
  • Series
  • The High Republic
Star Wars Celebration
ILM
SWCC 2019: 5 Things We Learned from the ILMxLAB Panel

SWCC 2019: 5 Things We Learned from the ILMxLAB Panel

Step inside your own Star Wars story.

Kelly Knox
Kelly Knox
April 14, 2019

Step inside your own Star Wars story.

You’ve already seen the first breathtaking trailer for Vader Immortal, a virtual reality experience coming later this year, which made its debut at Star Wars Celebration Chicago. But did you know that Lucasfilm’s immersive entertainment studio ILMxLAB has been developing and experimenting with virtual and mixed reality for years? At Celebration, the team assembled a fascinating panel that offered behind-the-scenes glimpses into the projects we’ve seen from ILMxLAB, along with teases of what we might find in the dark halls of Vader’s Castle on Mustafar.

ILMxLAB panelists speak at the Chicago 2019 Star Wars Celebration. Behind them, a projector features an image of K-2SO.

Moderator Bryan Bishop of ILMxLAB was joined by Director of Experience Development Mohen Leo, Production Coordinator Sarah Barrick, Senior Manager of Talent and Production Julie Peng, Senior Experience Designer Jose Perez III, and Executive Creative Producer Mark Miller to give the packed room a peek behind the curtains of ILMxLAB. Here are five things we learned.

1.There’s a huge difference between mixed reality and virtual reality. “People often lump virtual reality and mixed reality or augmented reality into one,” said Mohen Leo, “and they’re almost completely the opposite. Virtual reality is really about transporting you somewhere different, taking over your whole world, basically… [mixed reality] brings fictional elements in the real world. And fictional elements can be part of your everyday life when you’re going shopping or sitting on the bus. So how do we make Star Wars part of the real world?”

ZO-E3 in the game Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series.

 

2. While recording lines for Vader Immortal, Maya Rudolph would improvise new ones. Rudolph plays the droid sidekick ZOE3, and delighted ILMxLAB when she would go off-script in character. “She is hilarious,” said Sarah Barrick. “She got into the character so quickly… She practically writes the character herself. She’ll go through and just rapid-fire stuff that we didn’t even think of. She just gives us so much to work with, it really makes ZOE3.”

A droid battles with a lightsaber in the game Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series.

 

3. Pablo Hidalgo voices the training droid in the Lightsaber Dojo. “For those of us that work with [the Lucasfilm Story Group],” said Mark Miller, “it was sort of normal because we’d say, ‘We want to do this,’ and he’d say, ‘No, you can’t do that in Star Wars.’” Leo agreed and praised Hidalgo’s deadpan performance.

A river of lava leads to Darth Vader's castle in the game Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series.

4. ILMxLAB worked with other Star Wars masterminds at Lucasfilm as the team designed Vader’s castle and the secrets it hides. Vader Immortal is Star Wars canon and closely connects to one of ILMxLAB’s previous Star Wars VR titles, Secrets of the Empire. And that’s not the only connection. The team chatted with Lucasfilm Vice President and Executive Creator Designer Doug Chiang and his group for the Rogue One castle design, said Miller. “It was cool starting there and going up from there,” he said. “We got a lot of inspiration for things that you’ll learn about what’s in that castle, and why that castle was built on that spot, that you’ll only learn in the three episodes of Vader Immortal.”

A porg stands on a wooden table, between a hologram of C-3PO and a title card for Project Porg.

5. Your pet porg in Project Porg can play with a stuffed Chewbacca doll, chase a laser pointer, and more. Julie Peng recalled losing hours by simply playing with the laser pointer with her porg. Chewbacca and Threepio have entrusted you with the cute critters, and it’s up to you to keep them entertained. Anthony Daniels even returns as C-3PO to guide you through your new life with your porg companion. “It really moves the bar up from something where you’re just interacting with characters to where there’s a little story that’s very fun,” said Miller.

Visit StarWars.com’s Star Wars Celebration Chicago hub for all the latest Celebration news.

Kelly Knox is a freelance writer who loves creating Star Wars crafts with her daughter. Follow her on Twitter at @kelly_knox.

Site tags: #StarWarsBlog, #ILMxLAB

Related Topics

ILMxLAB SWCC 2019

Related Stories

  • SWCA 2022: The Women of ILMxLAB Discuss Their Career Journeys
    [object Object] [object Object]

    SWCA 2022: The Women of ILMxLAB Discuss Their Career Journeys

    May 29, 2022

    May 29, 2022

    May 29

  • SWCA 2022: 5 Highlights from ILMxLAB's Making of Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge Panel
    [object Object] [object Object]

    SWCA 2022: 5 Highlights from ILMxLAB's Making of Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge Panel

    May 28, 2022

    May 28, 2022

    May 28

  • SWCC 2019: 7 Things We Learned from the Vader Immortal Panel
    [object Object] [object Object]

    SWCC 2019: 7 Things We Learned from the Vader Immortal Panel

    April 12, 2019

    April 12, 2019

    Apr 12

  • SWCE 2016: David Goyer Working on ILMxLAB VR Project and Trials on Tatooine Comes Home
    [object Object] [object Object]

    SWCE 2016: David Goyer Working on ILMxLAB VR Project and Trials on Tatooine Comes Home

    July 16, 2016

    July 16, 2016

    Jul 16

More From Star Wars:
  • TikTok
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • SWKids
  • Terms of Use
  • Additional Content Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Disney Store | Star Wars
  • Star Wars Helpdesk
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved