{ "id": "ep0bq00316", "slug": "light-and-magic", "title": "Light & Magic", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual", "label": "Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries", "label": "Music, arts, and biographical docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Music, arts, and biographical docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual", "label": "Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries", "label": "Music, arts, and biographical docuseries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Light & Magic is a Disney+ documentary series, directed by Lawrence Kasdan (season 1, 2022) and Joe Johnston (season 2, 2025), chronicling the history of Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects company George Lucas founded in 1975 for Star Wars.", "snippet": "Light & Magic is a Disney+ documentary series, directed by Lawrence Kasdan (season 1, 2022) and Joe Johnston (season 2, 2025), chronicling the history of Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects company George Lucas founded in 1975 for Star Wars.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_documentary_factual.music_arts_biography_docuseries", "markdown": "# Light & Magic\n\n**Light & Magic** is an American documentary series that premiered on Disney+ in 2022, directed by [Lawrence Kasdan](https://www.edgepedia.org/lawrence-kasdan), which chronicles the history of [Industrial Light & Magic](https://www.edgepedia.org/industrial-light-and-magic) (ILM), the visual effects division of [Lucasfilm](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucasfilm).[1](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/light-and-magic/) Its first season, six episodes released on July 27, 2022, traces the company from its founding in 1975 to make the effects for *Star Wars: A New Hope* through the digital revolution of the 1980s and 1990s; a second season of three episodes, directed by ILM veteran Joe Johnston, followed on April 18, 2025.[2](https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/watch-the-trailer-for-the-new-documentary-series-light-magic/) • [3](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/light-and-magic-season-2/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Six-part documentary series, Disney+, first season premiered July 27, 2022[2](https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/watch-the-trailer-for-the-new-documentary-series-light-magic/) |\n| Director (season 1) | Lawrence Kasdan, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and longtime Lucasfilm collaborator[1](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/light-and-magic/) |\n| Production | Co-production of Lucasfilm and Imagine Documentaries; executive producers Kathleen Kennedy, Lawrence Kasdan, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Justin Wilkes, and Michelle Rejwan[1](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/light-and-magic/) |\n| Subject | Industrial Light & Magic, founded in 1975 to create the visual effects for *Star Wars: A New Hope* (1977)[1](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/light-and-magic/) |\n| Season 2 | Three episodes directed by Joe Johnston, streaming April 18, 2025, covering ILM's transition to digital filmmaking[3](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/light-and-magic-season-2/) |\n| Reception | Season 1 holds 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 13 reviews and 94% from more than 50 audience ratings[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/light_and_magic) |\n| Music | Composed by James Newton Howard[5](https://www.starwars.com/news/light-magic-is-here) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Season 2\n\nSeason 2, announced and screened at Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo in April 2025, is a three-part continuation produced by Imagine Documentaries that follows ILM into what Lucasfilm calls its most challenging and revolutionary period, the dawn of digital, from the first fully realized CG character to the challenge of digital water.[3](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/light-and-magic-season-2/) [Joe Johnston](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-johnston), among the first group hired at ILM in 1975 as a storyboard artist and concept designer and later the director of *Honey, I Shrunk the Kids*, *October Sky*, and *Captain America: The First Avenger*, directed the season, his first documentary work; he described steering an archive of thousands of hours of ILM footage with a small production team.[9](https://www.ilm.com/light-magic-joe-johnston-interview/) Johnston also executive produced alongside [Brian Grazer](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-grazer), Ron Howard, Justin Wilkes, Sara Bernstein, Lawrence Kasdan, Kathleen Kennedy, and Carrie Beck.[3](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/light-and-magic-season-2/) The season's premiere panel at Star Wars Celebration Japan included [Ahmed Best](https://www.edgepedia.org/ahmed-best), the actor of Jar Jar Binks, alongside ILM creative leadership.[10](https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-celebration-2025-light-and-magic-season-2)\n\n## Origin of the project\n\nKasdan, the screenwriter of *The Empire Strikes Back* and *Raiders of the Lost Ark*, proposed the series after making his first documentary, the 2019 short *Last Week at Ed's*, with his wife Meg. He said he suggested a history of visual effects because, despite working around them throughout his career, he realized he knew little about them, and that he was drawn to the people of ILM, some of whom stayed for forty-five years or more.[5](https://www.starwars.com/news/light-magic-is-here) The series was produced with Imagine Documentaries, the documentary company founded by [Ron Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-howard) and Brian Grazer, and was granted access to ILM's archives, including never-before-seen footage, photographs, and home movies.[5](https://www.starwars.com/news/light-magic-is-here) • [2](https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/watch-the-trailer-for-the-new-documentary-series-light-magic/)\n\n## What the first season covers\n\nThe season opens with the founding problem: in 1975, [George Lucas](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-lucas) found that no special effects company in Hollywood could realize his vision of \"dogfighting in space\" for *Star Wars*, so he founded ILM, enlisted camera expert John Dykstra, and set up shop in an old warehouse in [Van Nuys](https://www.edgepedia.org/van-nuys), California.[6](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/industrial-light-and-magic/) • [7](https://www.disneyplus.com/series/light-magic/3OtlwhtW6Z7E) The team designed ships, built models, and constructed a revolutionary motion-control camera system from scratch in hundred-degree heat; archival images show the crew operating the Dykstraflex camera with the [Millennium Falcon](https://www.edgepedia.org/millennium-falcon) model.[7](https://www.disneyplus.com/series/light-magic/3OtlwhtW6Z7E) • [2](https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/watch-the-trailer-for-the-new-documentary-series-light-magic/) When Lucas visited after principal photography, he found the company woefully behind schedule, and the team rallied to finish before the film's release.[7](https://www.disneyplus.com/series/light-magic/3OtlwhtW6Z7E)\n\n**Subsequent episodes** follow ILM's move north for *The Empire Strikes Back*, Lucas's hiring of computer scientist Ed Catmull to start a computer division, and the collaborations with [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg) and [Robert Zemeckis](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-zemeckis) that produced the effects of *Raiders of the Lost Ark*, *Poltergeist*, *E.T.*, and *Back to the Future*.[7](https://www.disneyplus.com/series/light-magic/3OtlwhtW6Z7E) The series also credits the computer division's Pixar Image Computer as the inspiration for John Knoll's creation of Photoshop, and covers the digital-era work on *The Abyss* and *Terminator 2*, the watershed digital dinosaurs of *Jurassic Park* (which left stop-motion artist [Phil Tippett](https://www.edgepedia.org/phil-tippett) feeling, in the series' telling, \"extinct\"), the *Star Wars* prequels, Jon Favreau's conversion from CG skeptic on *Iron Man*, and the StageCraft digital production system known as The Volume.[7](https://www.disneyplus.com/series/light-magic/3OtlwhtW6Z7E)\n\nThe Spanish-language press coverage of the series notes that it also recounts forced departures of prominent early members, most notably John Dykstra, who led the *Star Wars* effects team but was not retained by Lucas afterward.[8](https://as.com/meristation/noticias/light-magic-como-george-lucas-y-su-grupo-salvaje-cambiaron-la-historia-del-cine-f202512-n/)\n\n## Reception and context\n\nSeason 1 received a 100% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes from 13 critics and 94% from audiences; the site's critics consensus describes it as a comprehensive, down-to-earth salute to the craft of moviemaking.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/light_and_magic) Reviewers noted that the series does not avoid some costs of the digital transition, including Phil Tippett's difficult relationship with the CGI work on *Jurassic Park*.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/light_and_magic) One critic, reviewing for TheWrap, observed that as part of the [Walt Disney](https://www.edgepedia.org/walt-disney) empire some viewers might consider it Disney propaganda, while still judging it an insightful account.[11](https://www.thewrap.com/light-and-magic-review-disney-plus-documentary-series/)\n\nThe series' subject remains active: ILM, now headquartered in San Francisco with studios in five countries, has won 16 Academy Awards, 17 BAFTA Awards, and eight [Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmy-awards), and visual effects supervisor Dennis Muren, featured in the series, holds nine Academy Awards.[6](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/industrial-light-and-magic/) • [5](https://www.starwars.com/news/light-magic-is-here) Lucasfilm's own company history lists *Light & Magic* alongside its 2022 series premieres as part of the studio's recent output.[12](https://www.lucasfilm.com/who-we-are/our-story/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Light & Magic, Lucasfilm.com](https://www.lucasfilm.com/productions/light-and-magic/)\n2. [Watch the Trailer for the New Documentary Series Light & Magic, Lucasfilm.com](https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/watch-the-trailer-for-the-new-documentary-series-light-magic/)\n3. ['Light & Magic' Season 2 Trailer Unveiled at Star Wars Celebration, The Walt Disney Company](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/light-and-magic-season-2/)\n4. [Light & Magic: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/light_and_magic)\n5. [Light & Magic Is Here!, StarWars.com](https://www.starwars.com/news/light-magic-is-here)\n6. [The Story of Industrial Light & Magic, The Walt Disney Company](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/industrial-light-and-magic/)\n7. [Watch LIGHT & MAGIC | Full Episodes, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/series/light-magic/3OtlwhtW6Z7E)\n8. ['Light & Magic', cómo George Lucas y su grupo salvaje cambiaron la historia del cine, MeriStation (AS.com)](https://as.com/meristation/noticias/light-magic-como-george-lucas-y-su-grupo-salvaje-cambiaron-la-historia-del-cine-f202512-n/)\n9. [Director Joe Johnston Goes Behind the Scenes of 'Light & Magic' Season 2, ILM.com](https://www.ilm.com/light-magic-joe-johnston-interview/)\n10. [Light & Magic Season 2 Unveiled at Star Wars Celebration Japan, StarWars.com](https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-celebration-2025-light-and-magic-season-2)\n11. ['Light & Magic' Review: Disney+'s ILM Docuseries Is an Insightful Ride, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/light-and-magic-review-disney-plus-documentary-series/)\n12. [Lucasfilm Company History, Lucasfilm.com](https://www.lucasfilm.com/who-we-are/our-story/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series › Music, arts, and biographical docuseries*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/light-and-magic", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/light-and-magic.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Light & Magic\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/light-and-magic. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Light & Magic](https://www.edgepedia.org/light-and-magic)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/light-and-magic](https://www.edgepedia.org/light-and-magic). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Light & Magic\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/light-and-magic. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Light & Magic is a Disney+ documentary series, directed by Lawrence Kasdan and Joe Johnston, chronicling the history of Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects company George Lucas founded in 1975 for Star Wars." }