‘Course of the Force’ short film lands on Nerdists’ YouTube channel

A bunch of well-known geeks — like Nerdist founder Chris Hardwick and Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman — have teamed up to produce a short film for the upcoming Course of the Force charity run that’ll play on the Nerdist YouTube channel.

If you’re expecting lots of Star Wars references, then you’d be correct. As VentureBeat previously reported, the Course of the Force event has Nerdist Industries, Octagon, Machinima, Lucasfilm, and others teaming up for a charity run worthy of the ancient Jedi Order. Participants (lesser-known geeks) can buy themselves a quarter-mile leg of the race with a $500 donation, with all proceeds being donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Each runner will carry a lightsaber and hand it off to the next runner. Sponsors will have prize giveaways along the way at Star Wars-themed parties. The race kicks off July 7 and continues through July 11, one day before the 2012 Comic-Con International in San Diego.

As for the short film, not only does it promote the charity event, but it’s part of that original content play that YouTube is pushing through its premium content partners (like Nerdist). The video itself takes place at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) and features plenty of Star Wars references, such as R2D2, Tuskin Raiders, Boba Fett, Ewoks, etc. It’s worth noting that Nerdist CEO Peter Levin assures me that the Ewoks will be genuine and (I’m assuming) not some cheap CGI Alf-looking knock-offs.

We’ve taken the liberty of embedding the video below. Let us know in the comment section if you plan on participating in the event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwnBMQ0l7u4&feature=youtu.be