What creative people can make using the new Unreal Engine 5 is, well, unreal. Case in point, this updated version of a short film. It details how Order 66 went down on the planet Lah’mu and is basically photorealistic. Order 66 scenes are always haunting, especially when you consider that similar scenes played out thousands of times all around the galaxy. In this fan film, a Rodian Jedi named Nim Rosaan battles clone troopers after they receive their new orders and turn against the Jedi.
The previous version of the short film used Unreal Engine 4 and already looked amazing. But with more than five million views in the last two years, it was time for an update. Do you recognize the black lava fields set amongst green mountains in this scene? If so, that’s because the planet Lah’mu is where the Erso family hides out from the Empire in the beginning of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The Cinematic Captures studio creates many Star Wars short films using Unreal Engine and hosts yearly fan film contests. There’s a behind-the-scenes video for this Order 66 film that shows how the program works and all of the many steps involved. The team also created a sequel of sorts that includes the battle between Jedi and Inquisitor in the style of the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Unreal Engine is revolutionizing video games and pushing the boundaries of filmmaking in general. But it is also accessible enough for amazing fan-made videos like this one and many others. Fun ones we’ve seen recently include a Lord of the Rings video game that transports us to the peaceful Shire. Someone also made a photorealistic version of Super Mario Bros. with Chris Pratt as Mario that looks like a lot of fun to play.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.