For the past couple years, Lucasfilm’s immersive entertainment division ILMxLAB has been developing a Star Wars VR project with Dvid Goyer (The Dark Knight, Man of Steel) and it will put the focus on Darth Vader.

The first experience in the new VR series is called called Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series – Episode I. Now today the first trailer has been released and as a life-long Star Wars fan, it looks pretty exciting!

The Star Wars VR experience will debut with the launch of Oculus Quest, when it will be made available commercially next year.

The trailer give us a little taste at the three-part VR experience, which gives us a look at the player being brought to Vader’s lair in Mustafar. We then see the Dark Lord of the Sith approach the player before busting out his lightsaber.

Vader Immortal, written and executive produced by David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight, Secrets of the Empire), will be a three-part series set between Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It connects to Secrets of the Empire (though we don’t yet know how), and sends fans to the iconic Sith Lord’s castle on the lava-world of Mustafar first seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. As shown in the teaser trailer above, which also debuted today, we’ll encounter Vader himself and wield a lightsaber.

Here’s a little background on how Vader Immortal came to be thanks to Mohen Leo, director of immersive content at ILMxLAB:

“The very initial conversations around this project started three years ago, around the launch of ILMxLAB. Lucasfilm was in production on Rogue One. In the film, the audience gets a glimpse of Darth Vader’s castle on Mustafar, which we knew would be intriguing to a lot of fans. This was also around the time that some of the first really compelling content for the Oculus DK2, the developer kit that preceded the Oculus Rift, came out. We recognized that VR has a unique ability to transport people to a fictional place and let them explore it. So, we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to let the audience visit and explore Vader’s castle, and have the opportunity to learn some of his secrets?’” … “Secrets of the Empire really emphasized a sense of space and how you move through it. It also takes place on Mustafar, prior to the events of Vader Immortal, and it shows some narrative seeds of a storyline that connects the two experiences. With Vader Immortal, we really wanted to push connection to characters and narrative between multiple experiences. So you’re not just visiting an iconic place from a movie; you get to meet iconic characters like Darth Vader, face-to-face.”

The team behind ILMxLAB and the Lucasfilm Story group have already planned out out the next half dozen years of Star Wars stories that will be told through these immersive VR experiences. They will be bringing on big creative talent to bring these stories to life.

The Oculus Quest is a virtual reality headset that you will be able to purchase in 2019 for $399. Watch the trailer for Vader Immortal below and let us know if you’re excited to jump into the experience!