Industrial Light & Magic Launches TV Division

The Walt Disney Company’s venerable visual effects house Industrial Light & Magic announced today the launch of a new division, ILM TV, which will offer vfx and animation services for episodic work on streaming and linear tv platforms.

The division will operate out of ILM’s new 47,000 square foot London studio, with additional support from ILM offices in San Francisco, Vancouver, and Singapore.

The ILM TV team will be led by visual effects supervisors Hayden Jones and Jonathan Privett, alongside executive producers Louise Hussey and Stefan Drury. Previously, the team set up and oversaw DNEG’s television division and won a BAFTA for their work on Black Mirror.

The new division’s initial projects will be Lucasfilm’s live-action series based in the Star Wars universe, The Mandalorian, and the Superman prequel series Krypton, currently in its second season on Syfy.

“It’s not often you get to create a new division at Industrial Light & Magic,” says Rob Bredow, executive creative director and head of ILM. “We are seeing a real convergence in our creative approach used on films and in our immersive entertainment division ILMxLAB, and now we’re proud to be able to offer these ILM innovations in a way that’s suitable for streaming and television work to creatives around the world.”

In the launch announcement, ILM points out that the studio has a legacy in producing episodic content, citing its work on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992).

“We are extremely excited to be re-igniting ILM’s involvement in this market and to showcase the team’s expertise, unrivaled technology and production management globally,” says Hayden Jones. “The television and streaming segments have grown exponentially in recent years and we are seeing substantial demand for high caliber visual effects that can be delivered on schedule and within budget, all of which lie at the core of our teams expertise and proven track record.”