A Star Wars Story Used The Oldest VFX Trick In The Book To Create The Kessel Run

Bredow explained that the whole Kessel Run sequence was staged “end-to-end live,” with all the contributing aspects, including lighting, VFX, and other cues being executed on the fly, where a standard (and clever) use of rear projection, along with cutting-edge tech from Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), helped bring the sequence to life:

“We wrapped an entire 180-degree screen around the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, and had multiple projectors throwing media onto that using rear projection, one of the oldest tricks in the book. But we used new technology from ILM, creating an entire world of the Kessel Run in high resolution to be put on those screens. When the actor pulls the level to go into hyperspace, they really see the stars bleeding out like that.”

This level of detail helped enhance actor immersion, and the idea of a 20-minute-long continuous take helped refine the finer details of the sequence. Director of Photography Bradford Young worked with his gaffing team while “lighting and media cues” were employed simultaneously, and the Millennium Falcon was “about 12 or 15 feet in the air on a gimbal” that could be moved or spun around as was convenient. Although the physical space in which the shot was filmed was somewhat cramped, the sheer scale and scope of the sequence were successfully conveyed with the help of impressive rear projection:

“One of the fun things that rear projection allowed was a fresh compositional element: The shot where Han first walks into the cockpit, with L3 and Lando sitting at the controls, you see Han’s face light up when they jump into hyperspace. Better yet, you can see the reflection of the stars in his eyeballs.”