The Final Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Sandcrawler Scene Was Shot With Miniatures

Last week, Disney treated fans to a surprise when they announced the early digital release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The digital version of the third installment to the sequel trilogy includes lots of exciting bonus features, including The Skywalker Legacy, a feature-length documentary that charts the making of the new film. Recently, Nerdist shared eight of the most interesting facts learned from the documentary ranging from details about the scene filmed on Adam Driver’s birthday to a surprise cameo from Alec Guinness’ granddaughter. Another interesting fact revealed in the behind-the-scenes video was that the sandcrawler scene was shot with miniatures.

“The sequel trilogy, while still loaded with CGI, also avoided the fate of the prequels and went back to more practical effects,” Nerdist writes. “For the final sequence of The Rise of Skywalker, when Rey goes to Tatooine to bury Luke and Leia’s lightsabers and takes on the Skywalker name, the crew really wanted to honor the original films. That meant including shots of the Jawas and their Sandcrawler on the desert planet. The team achieved this entirely with practical effects. As actors stood off in the distance of the Jordan desert–which doubled as Tatooine this time around–a Sandcrawler in the foreground created the perfect illusion. George Lucas would be proud!”

The bonus extras included in the digital release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker can be seen in their entirety below:

• The Skywalker Legacy – The story lives forever in this feature-length documentary that charts the making of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
• Pasaana Pursuit: Creating the Speeder Chase – Dive into the making of the movie’s epic landspeeder chase and discover how this spectacular sequence was brought to the screen.
• Aliens in the Desert – See what it took to create the Pasaana desert scenes, from the sheer scale and complexity of the shoot to its colorful details.
• D-O: Key to the Past – Explore the ship that connects Rey to the mystery of her missing parents and get to know the galaxy’s newest, irresistible droid.
• Warwick & Son – Warwick Davis, who played Wicket in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, dons the Ewok costume once more; this time joined by his son Harrison.
• Cast of Creatures – The team behind the film’s memorable creatures reveal the puppetry, makeup, prosthetics and digital magic that bring them to life!

Digital Exclusive:

• The Maestro’s Finale – Composer John Williams reflects on his body of work for the Star Wars saga and shares insights on scoring Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on March 31st.