Going viral - This new Star Wars animation film might just be one of the greatest fan projects ever made.

Animation director Paul Johnson has made an eye-watering adaptation of Star Wars that takes audiences into the most epic space battle you could possibly imagine. The 80s themed short took more than 4 years to make and sets the bar ridiculously high for Star Wars fan projects.

The film has already received over 140k views in a matter of hours on Youtube with thousands of glowing comments of support. The short also incorporates superb sound design, stunning art work and that retro anime feel that we've been missing from Japan's early SEGA era.

Tie Fighter Short Animation

Featuring stunning hand-drawn art work, and even more impressive direction, the 7+ minute short animation has dazzled the Star Wars community and is being hailed as one of the best ever independently produced Star Wars films.

Johnson also pays tribute to Lucasfilm for inspiring the creation of the short and makes several references to the 1994 classic Tie Fighter video game.

Star Wars : Tie Fighter fan film

Filmmakers can check out the storyboard of the film for more details on the production.