Watch a 'Star Wars' Battle Erupt Over Los Angeles

Thanks to the opening shot of Star Wars, we all know how an Imperial Star Destroyer looks from space. Seeing one fly over downtown Los Angeles, however, is a whole new experience. In Kaipo Jones' exhilarating two-minute Star Wars fan movie (above), a full-fledged space battle rages in L.A., with AT-ATs storming the beach, TIE fighters soaring over the TCL Chinese Theater, and an Imperial Shuttle docking outside Griffith Observatory.

Related: Is That a TIE Fighter in Your Dashcam?

According to his behind-the-scenes video, Jones created Star Wars: Invasion L.A. by compositing his own footage of the city with 3-D animated models of Star Wars vehicles downloaded from the website SciFi 3D. While he was staging his massive Empire-versus-Rebels showdown in sunny California, the filmmaker inserted some sly visual references to Star Wars’ parent company Disney — for example, a sign on a Rodeo Drive building that says “Harryhausen’s” (the name of the restaurant in Monsters, Inc., a nod to legendary animator Ray Harryhausen) and the transformed Hollywood sign. Which begs the question: Did the film’s mysterious Sith Lord attack Disneyland, or did the Happiest Place on Earth remain unscathed? Perhaps Jones will take on Star Wars: Invasion Anaheim next?