Wild scenes of Star Wars crashing into our world (pictures)

What if the Star Wars universe included Earth?

For some artists, that scenario wasn't all that hard to imagine.

Artist Billy Ludwig has created a series of striking images merging World War II-era scenes with characters from a galaxy not so far away.

This image is entitled "Face to Face."

When most of us saw the second teaser for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," coming this December, we got pretty excited for a little while, then went back to our workaday lives. When Paris-based art director Nicolas Amiard saw the short clip -- especially the opening scene with a Star Destroyer crashed in the sand -- it inspired a whole set of artwork.

That scene, Amiard told CNET's Crave blog, led him to create eight images in which famous ships from the "Star Wars" universe were crashed into various world cities.

Looks like the Rebel Alliance scored a hit and forced this Imperial TIE Fighter aground in London. Good thing there's a phone booth nearby for the pilot to call the nearest Moff and let him know the news.

In this mash-up, titled "Heads Will Roll," Ludwig gives a World War II soldier a weapon better than any Grease Gun.

From the casual demeanor of the person walking down a Tokyo street in this image, it would seem like the V-wing starfighter that's crashed there has been downed so long, it's just become part of the scenery.

V-wings appeared in "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" as well as in lots of other video games and comics. Though the design was used by the Galactic Republic, elements were later incorporated into the much more popular Imperial TIE Fighters, according to Wookieepedia.

The All Terrain Armored Transport, or AT-AT walker, is used by Imperial troops both as a way to get around, and as a way to psyche out the enemy.

These poor World War II soldiers look outgunned, doomed to lose against an AT-AT while the Death Star looks on.

Old-school (a gondola) meets new-school (an X-wing starfighter) in this image. Of course, the gondola is better suited for navigating Venice's small canals than the Rebel ship. What was the pilot thinking?

"The X-wing was originally developed for the Galactic Empire but the entire Incom design team defected with the prototypes to the Rebel Alliance, ending the contract," says Wookieepedia.

The title of this artwork, "Obey," shows Stormtroopers taking over the 1934 Macy's Christmas Parade in New York.

In this image, artist Amiard sets that crashed Destroyer in his hometown of Paris. It certainly eclipses the Eiffel Tower, don't you think?

The Death Star looms large as TIE fighters enter a vintage battle.

Just out of frame: The Millennium Falcon swooping in to save this soldier from doom at the hands of a Stormtrooper. Or maybe that's just our wishful thinking.

While not a major vessel in the films, this Venator-class Star Destroyer -- which has had the bad luck of crashing into San Francisco -- featured prominently in the "Clone Wars" animated series.

The ship was "1,137 meters long (about 3,730 feet), making it one of the largest capital ships capable of atmospheric operations, landing on planets to load and unload troops and vehicles," says Wookieepedia.

You can see more of Amiard's work -- including a series on "The Walking Dead" -- on his Behance page.

Maybe not the most famous ship in the "Star Wars" universe, this Lucrehulk-class Battleship did appear in every episode of the three-film prequel series -- and now it appears in Rio de Janeiro as well.

The ship belonged to the Trade Federation's Trade Defense Force. The center sphere holds the ship's bridge and "reactor assemblies," says Wookieepedia. "The front void of the craft held two mammoth docking bays on either side, which were lined with forward docking claws."

Red Square in Moscow looks like it was big enough for this N-1 Naboo starfighter to land instead of crashing.

This ship also made it into all three prequels and hails from the planet of Naboo -- as of course do the key figures of Padmé Amidala, Emperor Palpatine and Jar Jar Binks.

It appears that Han and Chewie were able to steer the Millennium Falcon into the water that surrounds Manhattan, saving thousands of lives -- and the new One World Trade Center building in the background.

An Imperial star destroyer bears down on vintage, Earth-bound ground troops.

Look familiar? This image is inspired by the classic photo of six U.S. soldiers raising an American flag during the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima.