The Story of Industrial Light & Magic — the Company That Changed Visual Effects Forever | The Walt Disney Company

The Story of Industrial Light & Magic — the Company That Changed Visual Effects Forever Entertainment September 2, 2026 In May 1975, filmmaker and future Disney Legend George Lucas was ready to make his space opera. There was just one Death Star -sized problem: No special effects company in Hollywood was capable of bringing his ambitious vision to life. So, he founded Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), enlisting camera expert John Dykstra and a team of artists, builders, and dreamers to set up shop in an old warehouse in Van Nuys, California, to work on Star Wars (1977) — a film that would reshape an industry and make visual effects history. “ILM was founded out of necessity,” Janet Lewin, SVP, General Manager, ILM, says in the video above. “There is no Star Wars without ILM — and there is no ILM without Star Wars .” Related Articles ‘Light & Magic’ Season 2 Trailer Unveiled at Star Wars Celebration News April 17, 2025 How DisneyResearch|Studios’ Technology and Industrial Light & Magic Artistry Helped Reinvent Hulk in Marvel Studios’ ‘Avengers: Endgame’ News May 13, 2019 For more than half a century, ILM — now headquartered in San Francisco, California, with studios in five countries — continues to raise the bar for visual effects. Winner of 17 BAFTA Awards, 16 Academy Awards ® , and eight Emmy ® Awards (among other accolades), ILM gradually evolved beyond practical visual effects to become an artistic and technical leader in the fields of feature animation, immersive entertainment, virtual production, and beyond. In the video above, ILM leadership — including Lewin; John Knoll, Executive Creative Director; and Lucasfilm’s Doug Chiang, SVP, Executive Design Director — share the company’s story. Related Tags Lucasfilm Ltd. Star Wars Follow Us LinkedIn Facebook YouTube The post The Story of Industrial Light & Magic — the Company That Changed Visual Effects Forever appeared first on The Walt Disney Company . — Company newsroom — sourced from The Walt Disney Company. Matter furnished by the company. Not a Notice Nearby paid placement. This page reprints matter furnished by the company from its official newsroom. Notice Nearby did not write this release. Read the original: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/industrial-light-and-magic