Hasta La Ideas

With the new Star Wars trailer already at 69 million hits, the creators knew they’d have to release something special for last week’s San Diego Comic-Con, the annual geek gathering that can generate mountains of buzz. Filmmakers typically do this by treating Con-goers to new footage, but director J.J. Abrams opted instead to put together a behind-the-scenes reel.

The surprising reveal is just how many “real sets and practical effects” the filmmakers have gone with. One might imagine a sci-fi spectacle as big as this one to be loaded up with green screen and CGI; instead we’re treated to a look at an army of tradespeople, their full-size starships and even the Millennium Falcon being knocked together, 1:1, out of plywood. Not to mention Han Solo getting behind the wheel again while director Abrams peers at him through the windscreen: