ILM is bringing Star Wars to virtual reality

Industrial Light and Magic is the special effects house that George Lucas created to bring Star Wars to life, and it's since worked on just about every huge event film you can name. And now it's getting into virtual reality.

"Enter ILMxLab, which is testing a variety of iPad- and Oculus Rift-based technology that allows movie aficionados to enter specific scenes of a movie and navigate through them at will," USA Today reported. "ILMxLab executives say the tech is most likely to make its debut in association with J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December."

Two experiences are discussed in the story.

"In an exclusive demo for USA TODAY, Gaeta fired up a Star Wars-inspired scene where R2D2 and C-3PO are hiding from Storm Troopers in a dusty village," the story says. "Instead of just watching the scene on a screen, a visitor holding an iPad can turn 360-degrees and see all around the main characters' world."

There is also a demo where the player can fly an X-Wing while wearing an Oculus Rift.These are early days for the group, and virtual reality technology as a whole, but the world's most respected special effects houses getting into virtual reality is great news for enthusiasts of the technology, not to mention fans of Star Wars.