The Mandalorian featurette explores ILM’s return to practical miniatures

The original STAR WARS trilogy was full of beautiful miniatures and ground-breaking motion-control shots, but as the franchise continued and digital technology took over, models have been used less and less, but The Mandalorian decided to go a little old school. Industrial Light & Magic have released a short documentary detailing how they created and shot a model of The Mandalorian's ship, the Razor Crest. "Miniatures and motion control are in our DNA at ILM, and it’s been over 15 years since we have done a motion-control shoot," Inside ILM: Creating the Razor Crest director Chris Hawkinson told StarWars.com. "Documenting the process wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the company and filmmakers." Check out the video above!

While the original plan was for the Razor Crest to remain a digital creation, the team couldn't resist making a practical model that The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau wanted to resemble an A-10 Warthog. "We spent just over two months gathering interviews and shooting behind-the-scenes footage and finished post production during shelter-in-place," Hawkinson said. "From the design of the ship, to the engineering the motion-control rig and model mover, to the incredible level of detail in the miniature, to the passion everyone brought to the project… It’s movie magic. It’s what inspired me growing up, and helping tell the story was one of the greatest joys of my career."

The second season of The Mandalorian is slated to debut on Disney+ on October 30, 2020.