The second season of the series "Light and Magic" was presented at the Star Wars Celebration in Japan
The new season of the Lucasfilm and Imagine Entertainment docuseries premieres today on Disney+, and the filmmakers shared a special message with fans at Star Wars Celebration.
Light & Magic Season 2 is out on Disney+with a new trailer and poster. The acclaimed documentary series from Lucasfilm and Imagine Entertainment explores the continuing legacy of Industrial Light & Magic, now celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Star Wars voice artist Sam Witwer held a live discussion at Star Wars Celebration Japan with Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best, President and CEO of Lucasfilm Lynwen Brennan, Senior Vice President, General Manager and Head of ILM Janet Lewin, ILM Executive Creative Director and Senior Visual Effects Supervisor John Noll, ILM Sydney Creative Director and Senior Animation Supervisor Rob Coleman and Lucasfilm Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Design Doug Chiang.
As the panel began, Season 2 director Joe Johnston and executive producer Ron Howard shared a video greeting with fans on the Celebration Stage. In his recorded message, Johnston thanked Season 1 viewers and looked forward to Season 2. “All these decades later, I am amazed at what we were able to achieve in the early days,” he said. “My goal [for Season 2] was to explore the incredible chapter of change as the digital revolution began to take hold.We have many exciting stories to tell."
Johnston himself was one of ILM's first employees in 1975, working as a concept designer and storyboard artist on the original Star Wars trilogy. Years later, his successful work as a director led him back to ILM, where he worked alongside the company on films such asThe Rocketeer, JumanjiandJurassic Park III. After veteran writer-director Lawrence Kasdan directed the first season of Light and Magic, Johnston was given the opportunity to take on the story.
As Howard said in his video: “The stories of these unsung artists somehow make the iconic films they worked on even more exciting. Season two showcases how the innovators at ILM, under the visionary leadership of George Lucas, continued to pioneer new techniques, develop revolutionary digital technologies, and transform the way we perceive the art and craft of filmmaking. I promise, this time there will be moremorestories about the creation of magic.”
Robbers andrebelsILM
Season 2 picks up in the mid-1990s after ILM's work onJurassic Park marked a massive change in the visual effects industry and the art form. Over the next decade, ILM introduced countless innovations, each a "first" in its own right. The Star Warsprequel trilogy in particular pushed ILM and Lucasfilm to develop new digital tools to empower their artists and bring George Lucas' vision to life.
Lynwen Brennan is incredibly grateful for the way the documentary showcases both the tools and the artists.“Joe did such a wonderful job on this series,” she said, “and the behind-the-scenes team did such a wonderful job capturing these moments. Sometimes there's a misconception that we're a black box of secrecy, that we push the visual effects button, but it's literally thousands of talented artists who come up with it all together."
Commenting that ILM employees were “outcasts and rebels, and just like the Rebel Alliance,” Brennan further explained: “Part of what makes ILM special is the people . When George Lucas originally created ILM, he had in mind to bring together people who like to challenge the status quo and who are not afraid of the impossible. That's something that's still in ILM's DNA - and it doesn't get more rebellious than that."
One of these people, Doug Chiang, was one of the original artists to work on the prequel trilogy, and was tasked with helping lead the effort to create a whole new era in the Star Wars galaxy. Chan, always humble, was first inspired by behind-the-scenes content like this. “I’ve always dreamed of working at Industrial Light & Magic,” Chan said, “ever since I saw the original documentaries about its creation. It was crazy because I didn't think I could achieve this dream - so sitting here with everyone on this panel is still a little surreal."
Although the prequels used digital visual effects unprecedented for their time, each film in the trilogy was very much a hybrid affair. Cutting-edge technology combined tried and true practices. As visual effects supervisor, John Noll was responsible for helping determine the best techniques for each shot and sequence, from the high-speed racing pods on Tatooine to the boiling rivers of lava on Mustafar.
Called a member of the "prequel professionals" by his fellow panelist, Noll was relatively quiet about his focus and determination at the time.“There were a lot of things that were beyond the capabilities of the instruments themselves,” he recalled. “I kept a mental tally of what I needed to come up with. But I was really inspired by the Star Wars movies, and I wanted to get to a place where I could someday be able to work on something of that size and scope.” The results speak for themselves and are beautifully documented inLight & Magic.
“We are Jar Jar”
Ahmed Best was at the forefront of innovation with his performance as Jar Jar Binks in the 1999 film Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The second season ofLight and Magicexplores his journey as the first actor to star in a feature film using digital motion capture technology. As he animatedly recalled to the admiring crowd, “What all of us [on that stage] had in common was that George saw something in us. To do the best job we could for this thing we all love and for thispersonwe all loved, we had to give it our all. Jar Jar is not just me - it’s all of us, everyone who sits on this panel. We are Jar Jar.”
After Jar Jar Binks, animation director Rob Coleman sought to bring Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) to digital form for Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. In fact, this was the only way to embody the character's performance in his complex lightsaber duel with Count Dooku. With a background in choreography and martial arts, Best even consulted with Coleman on fight design.
The highlight of the panel was also Coleman's sentimental remark that the panel was the first time he and Best had seen each other in person in two decades, after years of close collaboration. As he so eloquently puts it, “This documentary is like a time machine to me. It's surreal.Those days and encounters were somewhere in my brain, and after watching this documentary they all quickly came back. I'm so grateful for this documentary because it captured a time in my life, in ourlives, when we created something truly special."
50 years of magic
It's a testament to the hard work and determination that goes into a job that fans love. As ILM celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025, there are many past accomplishments worth celebrating, all of which inform and inspire the artists working for the company today.
Levine sums it up best. “I think what impressed me the most was the way Joe Johnston was able to tell the story of the visual effects. It's innovative, it requires artistry and innovative ideas. Everyone has a voice and that's what makes it so exciting. I love that we have a program that shows this, and I hope you all enjoy it too.”
Watch Season 2 of The Light and Magic on Disney+, and don't miss more coverage of the docuseries on Lucasfilm.com and ILM.com.