Star Wars: Squadrons Gets a Prequel Short Film Made With Lucasfilm and ILM
EA Motive's dogfighting sim is being shown a bit of storytelling love from the Star Wars hive.
Say what you will about how Star Wars has been handled by Electronic Arts and Disney, but it's still gotta be hard for most fans to not be drawn in by a well-executed fight between TIE Fighter and X-Wing. Today, EA and Lucasfilm released a new animated short for Star Wars: Squadrons, and while it's not representative of gameplay or essential to the story, it's a neat action sequence all the same.
The short, "Hunted," is a post-Battle of Endor prequel to Squadrons following TIE Interceptor pilot Varko Grey after the destruction of an Imperial outpost. Grey, a pilot who will appear in Squadrons, finds himself separated from the rest of the Empire's Titan squad and pursued by a determined X-Wing.
Directed by EA's Neel Upadhye, it's probably one of the longest, most intimate looks at a one-on-one fighter battle ever depicted in official Star Wars media. "Hunted" brings some serious talent to bear: EA Motive, developers of Squadrons, worked with both Lucasfilm and Industrial Light and Magic's John Knoll on the short.
Knoll is a visual effects legend who has worked on Star Wars films for years (he also co-created Photoshop, wouldn't you know). Recently, he served as an effects supervisor for The Mandalorian, which saw Star Wars embracing Epic's Unreal Engine as a filmmaking tool. An official StarWars.com article on "Hunted" quotes Knoll on why he got on board with the short:
"I really admired cinematics from older Star Wars games. I think they're wonderful stories[...] It was kind of irresistible to have been offered to work on a standalone short. I felt like we had to do it."
With the entire existence of Squadrons seemingly motivated by nostalgia for the old X-Wing and TIE Fighter games, it's not that surprising to hear other Star Wars creators wanted in on the action for similar reasons. Still, an ILM and Lucasfilm-produced short film is an impressive bit of marketing for something EA's cautiously releasing as a $39.99 title.
We'll find out for ourselves soon whether Squadrons can live up to the big, grand picture fans have in their heads for a proper return of Star Wars fighter sims. Squadrons launches on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 on October 2, and thanks to a day-one patch, it'll support flight sticks and throttle controls on all platforms.
In other news
Stardew Valley Just Got Beaches, Fish Tanks, Swimming Ducks, and a Whole Lot More
Nearly five years on, Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone just pushed what he says is Stardew's "biggest update yet."
Vin Diesel Doesn't Just Appear in Ark 2, He's Also Its Executive Producer
Living life one development milestone at a time.
The Last of Us Part 2 Takes Home Top Prize at The Game Awards: Here Are All the Winners
Hades, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and Among Us did get some well-earned love too.
Airplane Mode, a Purposefully Dull Air Travel Simulator, Gets In-Game Podcast About Itself
Pretend to be in a plane while listening to a podcast on recreating the experience you're pretending to have…
You may also like
USgamer Staff Past and Present Say Goodbye (Clone)
End of an era.
USgamer Staff Past and Present Say Goodbye
End of an era.
Press Start to Continue
A look back on what we tried to accomplish at USgamer, and the work still to be done.
Mat's Farewell | The Truth Has Not Vanished Into Darkness
This isn't the real ending, is it? Can't be.