Behind The Visual Effects Of Star Wars: The Force Awakens

It takes a world of special effects to create a whole new galaxy from scratch, especially when it's supposed to be so far, far away.

Industrial Light & Magic has unveiled the official "sizzle reel" for 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, showcasing the making of some of the movie's major visual effects. The folks at io9 spotted it first.

The video goes in chronological order through scenes in J.J. Abrams' blockbuster, stripping away layers of CGI to show the practical effects and sets the actors actually worked with.

From the desert planet Jakku and the TIE fighter Star Destroyer escape to the light saber battle on Starkiller Base, the video reveals that many shots began simply–with an actor and a green screen–only to evolve into massive, complex action sequences. In some cases, many of the detailed environments and lifelike characters were never actually there at all.

Watch the reel above and check out our spoiler-filled explanation of the movie's ending along with moments we didn't see coming in The Force Awakens.