2020s

Tron: Ares is a follow-up to Disney’s 1982 seminal science fiction film, Tron, and the 2010 sequel, Tron: Legacy.

From director Joachim Rønning, the film’s story follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.

Roughly 90% of the shots in Tron: Ares required visual effects, and thus ILM’s work on the film was wide-ranging, including significant contributions to both the ENCOM and Dillinger Grids, as well as to the retro-style Flynn Grid. Additionally, ILM was responsible for the seamless integration of Grid-based vehicles and characters into the real world. Principal photography was centered in Vancouver, where ILM’s team already based in the city was able to advise on the capturing of live action plates and related elements. The depiction of Light Cycles and Recognizers in the human realm required a new approach to the appearance and movement of the vehicles. Within the Grid environments, ILM pushed the classic Tron aesthetic to realize captivating and dynamic imagery. 

Led by ILM’s own David Seager as production visual effects supervisor, ILM’s visual effects work was led from ILM’s Vancouver and Sydney studios, with additional contributions from the company’s  Mumbai studio and various partner companies.

ILM’s visual effects in Tron: Ares won Best Visual Effects or Animation at the 2026 AACTA Awards and was nominated for Outstanding Environment in a Photoreal Feature and Outstanding CG Cinematography at the VES Awards in the same year.

Tron: Ares is now available to watch on Disney+.

Read more about Tron: Ares on ILM.com:

The Grid Hits the Streets: ILM’s David Seager on the Visual Effects of ‘Tron: Ares’

ILM’s Jeff Capogreco and Jhon Alvarado Take Us Into the Grid of ‘Tron: Ares’

Inside the ILM Art Department: ‘Tron: Ares’

Superman, DC Studios’ first feature film to hit the big screen, soared into theaters in the summer of 2025 from Warner Bros. Pictures. In his signature style, director James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.

ILM’s work on Superman included the creation of the city Metropolis as well as digital counterparts for the Hammer of Boravia and Ultraman. The team also built a digital double for the film’s namesake, with extensive animation and simulation work required to make Superman fly at great speed. The epic interdimensional rift later required ILM to depict multiple layers of destruction across Metropolis. And among ILM’s creature work on the show is the animation of the memorable Krypto the Superdog in the film’s climactic battle sequence.

Led by ILM visual effects supervisor Enrico Damm in collaboration with production visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti and visual effects producer Susan Pickett, ILM’s visual effects work was led out of the company’s San Francisco studio with additional contributions from the Sydney and Mumbai studios.

ILM’s visual effects in Superman received nominations for Best Visual Effects at the Critics Choice Awards and the Astra Film & Creative Arts Awards, as well as Best Visual Effects or Animation at the AACTA Awards, Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal Feature and Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Feature at the VES Awards, and Best Visual/Special Effects at the Saturn Awards in 2026.

Superman is now available to watch on HBO Max.

Read more about Superman on ILM.com:

How ILM Helped James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Soar with High-Flying Visual Effects

Charlie Heller (Malek) is a brilliant, but deeply introverted decoder for the CIA working out of a basement office at headquarters in Langley whose life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack. When his supervisors refuse to take action, he takes matters into his own hands, embarking on a dangerous trek across the globe to track down those responsible, his intelligence serving as the ultimate weapon for eluding his pursuers and achieving his revenge.

The film also stars Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Adrian Martinez, Danny Sapani, and Laurence Fishburne. “The Amateur” is directed by James Hawes. The screenplay is by Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli based on the novel by Robert Littell. The film is produced by Hutch Parker, p.g.a., Dan Wilson, p.g.a., Rami Malek, Joel B. Michaels, with JJ Hook serving as executive producer.

After successful partnerships on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and The Creator, ILM once again partnered with Gareth Edwards as the director took the reins of the iconic Jurassic World franchise. Set five years after the events of the earlier Jurassic World Dominion, in Rebirth the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea, and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind. 

A large amount of time and creative effort on ILM’s part was committed to the creation of a multitude of CG dinosaurs, from a bigger, more powerful Tyrannosaurus rex to the the tiny Compsognathus, the acid-spraying Dilophosaurus, the soaring Quetzalcoatlus, and the ocean-dwelling Mosasaurus. Then there were the often terrifying, genetically manipulated creatures, including the Distortus rex, Titanosaurus, and Mutadon.

Following Edwards’ penchant for naturalistic, freeform shooting, ILM presented dinosaurs that felt like believable animals living within their own habitats. Extensive location shooting in Malta and Thailand included major set pieces on the ocean and an island river. Throughout these sequences, entire sections of landscape and water were digital creations integrated seamlessly with the surrounding location plates. In over 300 shots on the ocean, some 85% were actually shot on dry land. The ILM team wrote new water solvers for a number of creative needs throughout the film. 

With roughly 1,200 shots, ILM’s work on Jurassic World Rebirth was  led out of the London studio with additional support from San Francisco, Vancouver, and Mumbai, as well as various partner companies. ILM’s own David Vickery was production visual effects supervisor and collaborated with ILM visual effects supervisors Charmaine Chan, Simono Coco, and Andrew Roberts. 

ILM’s visual effects for Jurassic World Rebirth were nominated for an Academy Award, as well as a Visual Effects Society Award and an Astra Film & Creative Arts Award.

Jurassic World Rebirth is now available to watch on Netflix.

Read more about Jurassic World Rebirth here on ILM.com:

“What Do We Have To Do To Make it an 11 out of 10?”: Visual Effects Supervisor David Vickery on ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’

In “Severance,” Mark Scout (Adam Scott) leads a team at Lumon Industries, whose employees have undergone a severance procedure that surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. This daring experiment in “work-life balance” is called into question as Mark finds himself at the center of an unraveling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work … and of himself. In season two, Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe.

Read more about Severance on ILM.com:

The Invisible Visual Effects Secrets of Severance with ILM’s Eric Leven

Silo is the story of the last ten thousand people on Earth, their mile-deep home protecting them from the toxic and deadly world outside. However, no one knows when or why the silo was built and any who try to find out face fatal consequences. Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette, an engineer, who seeks answers about a loved one’s murder and tumbles onto a mystery that goes far deeper than she could have ever imagined, leading her to discover that if the lies don’t kill you, the truth will.

Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

Created for television by Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords”), Iain Morris (“The Inbetweeners”) and Taika Waititi (“Reservation Dogs”), Time Bandits is an unpredictable journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin. Together they set out on a thrilling quest to save the boy’s parents — and the world.

Guided by Lisa Kudrow, the eccentric crew of bandits embark on epic adventures while evil forces threaten their conquests and life as they know it. As the group is transported through time and space, the gang stumbles upon fascinating worlds of the distant past while seeking out treasure, depending on Kevin to shed light on each situation.