JJ Abrams: All Special Effects in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Done in MS Paint

In a week that has already been chock-full of juicy tidbits about the upcoming ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ director JJ Abrams just dropped another bomb on us, this time regarding the film’s special effects: they have all been designed with Microsoft Paint.

“I felt the overuse of CGI took a lot away from the prequel trilogy,” explained Abrams. “But we have recaptured and reinvented the tangible authenticity of the original films using MS Paint. And I think the results may surprise you.”

Let’s take a look at some exclusive new images below:

Trouble on Tatooine

Above: Happy ever after? Heroes Finn (John Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) flee a deadly TIE Fighter attack. Fans of ‘Return of the Jedi’ will be overjoyed to see Mr. Flipper, a mischievous Ewok, joining them on their adventures. Abrams revealed, “Given that this film takes place in a new era of Star Wars history, we were looking for a slightly different look. In the end, no technique brought our world to life more than Paint, a simple art program most popular in the 1990s.”

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Prepare for Take-Off!

Above: Ace pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) prepares for battle along with the rest of his mighty fleet. As always, his sidekick Girl Yoda is ready to fly off and kick some Sith butt. Abrams’ special effects team put in over 300 hours into designing Girl Yoda’s dress and bow, so viewers new and old alike could clearly tell that she was just like the original Yoda, except also a girl.

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Never Tell Me the Odds!

Above: With a ruined Star Destroyed in the background, new character Jeeku the Hutt runs for his life from an AT-ST and a UFO. Abrams commented, “Traditionally in the Star Wars canon, the Hutts are a race of giant, slug-like gangsters. But in our initial Paint design of Jeeku, he came out looking more like a centaur, so we just decided to roll with that.”

How excited are you for the new Star Wars special effects? Let us know in the comment section below!