One Star Wars fan has taken his talents in visual arts to the next level. Protests have erupted across Russia in support of Alexei Navalny last week. The opposition leader was recently jailed after returning to the country and the Russian police have come out with all their might to suppress the protests.
Some of the news footage looks like something out of a movie, which graphic designer Vladislav Ivanov made the most of by incorporating elements from Star Wars.
For the first time in decades, the entire city core of Moscow, the area surrounding the Kremlin and the main government offices nearby has been turned into an impenetrable fortress with riot policemen and checkpoints at every corner. I guess this is what fear looks like. pic.twitter.com/BCrMrBl6uO
— Ivan Nechepurenko (@INechepurenko) January 31, 2021
Vladislav Ivanov’s mind went straight to the Empire from the Star Wars franchise, so he digitally inserted Stormtroopers, TIE Fighters, droids, an AT-AT Walker, and more, into his daily commute. The results appear to be in an officially licensed Lucasfilm project and even Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill approves of it. Hamill retweeted the video and jokingly said, “I’d probably watch the news more often if they went to the trouble of adding special effects.” The special effects that Ivanov put in the video are truly a work of art.
Matthew Luxmoore also retweeted the video, stating: “Many Russian cities are like militarized fortresses today, as the authorities try to thwart the second wave of protests. Graphic designer Vladislav Ivanov captures the zeitgeist with this dystopian depiction of St. Petersburg ”.
Even in tough times, Star Wars is helping to bring some light to a tense situation. While fans have argued about recent movies or even the prequel trilogy, there are times when everything has helped one person, or group of people, through a difficult time. Mark Hamill frequently interacts with fans on social media and he knows it very well.
Mark Hamill brings a lot of joy to Star Wars fans on social media, which generally revolves around sarcasm and jokes, although the actor does get serious from time to time. After fans saw the shocking finale to The Mandalorian season 2, they were ecstatic.
Hamill was overwhelmed by the reception he received from fans and shared his gratitude more than once throughout the past few weeks on social media, even going as far as thanking Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, along with director Peyton Reed. A lot of difficult things are happening around the world right now, so any joy is or should be, celebrated.
It’s unclear if Vladislav Ivanov will create more Star Wars- Themed Videos in and around Moscow, but his 20-second clip makes it clear. As for the current Star Wars franchise, the future has its roots in Disney +, thanks to the success of The Mandalorian, which has since spawned some spin-offs, in addition to previously announced shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Rogue One prequel series Andor.
Additionally, Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins and Jojo Rabbitdirector Taika Waititi are working on their respective films. While we wait to see the aforementioned projects, you can check out Ivanov’s chilling video above, thanks to Mark Hamill’s official Twitter account.
