Phil Roberts 
Dust off the Razor Crest, polish the Beskar, and get ready to explore the virtual production of The Mandalorian Season 2!
The second season of The Mandalorian was a sensation. It was a hit with critics, was nominated for multiple Emmys. And was the platform for the return of Boba Fett. But how did the production manage during the pandemic? Did Jon Favreau use the Force to see them through? Or was it the pure grit and determination of a dedicated team of individuals? Let’s find out:
The Virtual Production
A behind-the-scenes look at the groundbreaking virtual production technology used on The Mandalorian, season two. For the second season of Lucasfilm’s hit Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, Industrial Light & Magic reengineered their StageCraft virtual production platform rolling out version 2.0 in which ILM introduced among other things, Helios, Industrial Light & Magic’s first cinematic render engine designed for real-time visual effects.
Engineered from the ground up with film and television production in mind, Helios offers incredible performance, high fidelity real-time ray tracing, the ability to rip through scenes of unparalleled complexity, all while leveraging ILM’s unrivaled color science, and was designed from the start to work seamlessly with ILM StageCraft.
The purpose-built, production-hardened platform allows filmmakers to explore new ideas, communicate concepts, and execute shots in a collaborative and flexible production environment.
It just goes to prove that with the right amount of positivity, dedication, and technical brilliance you can accomplish anything. It is to these people we owe our thanks. Without them, there would no season two. And we cannot wait to strap ourselves in for another rollercoaster ride in season three.
RECAP
However, if you’re still craving more content from The Mandalorian, feel free to check out our Season to review archive here. Moreover, if that isn’t enough to have you dancing around the campfire like a Wookiee on Life Day; check out of season one recap here.
This is the way!
Source: ILMVFX
Phil Roberts is the owner, daily content manager, and editor-in-chief of The Future of the Force. He is a huge fan of Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies.
If he’s not in the cinema he’s probably streaming something equally awesome!
