As we await the long-promised, but still unannounced new trailer for** Star Wars: The Force Awakens**, the team working away in that galaxy far, far away has dropped a fun little video nugget today. There’s a new, 360-degree video sequence set on Jakku that has come online via Facebook.
The video gives you the opportunity to ride along on Rey’s (Daisy Ridley) speeder across the harsh desert terrain and take a look at various structures and creatures as you do so, using either your mouse on a web browser or the touchscreen on a mobile device. Created by ILM’s virtual reality lab, it’s not clear how closely it ties into the film’s story, though the spaceship graveyard does look awfully familiar, and your hear BB-8 at the end.
It’s all part of a new drive by Facebook to put 360 video on timelines, with content from the likes of Discovery, GoPro and Saturday Night Live up right now. The plan is for any user with the right camera/phone to be able to upload footage using the system. Currently it only works on certain browsers and Android devices (which seems odd given Disney’s close relationship with Apple, but then this is Facebook’s project), but is a glimpse at the future of such interactive ideas.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, meanwhile, arrives in the UK on December 17.