It’s one of the biggest names in entertainment, and George Lucas, the creative mastermind who first introduced us to that iconic galaxy far, far away all those years ago, is a director known for tinkering with the series that made his name.
Over the years, Lucas and his VFX team have made a series of alterations to the original Star Wars trilogy – some big, some small – ranging from CGÂ Dewbacks in A New Hope to Han’s encounter with Jabba the Hutt, but what about those pieces of concept art and sketches that painted some of the franchise’s favorite characters in a completely different light?
What Culture has compiled a gallery of Star Wars art drawn up by the illustrious Ralph McQuarrie, who worked closely with George Lucas all throughout his tenure overseeing Lucasfilm’s most precious asset. Embedded below, you’ll find sketches for Chewbacca, Yoda, Han Solo, Darth Maul and the aforementioned Jabba the Hutt, who at one point boasted a more humanoid design replete with two short, stumpy legs.
Perhaps the most bizarre one of the lot is Yoda, who seemed to be originally conceived as a pint-sized version of Gandalf the Grey – bushy white beard and all. The same can be said for Darth Maul, too. By the looks of things, the villain first introduced in The Phantom Menace was always going to be a nightmarish figure, but the initial concept art from McQuarrie wouldn’t look out of place in an Insidious film. Not all of these pieces were abandoned, though; as What Culture notes, the artwork for Chewbacca was later used as inspiration for Zeb, the Lasat honor guard who appears in Star Wars Rebels.
Tell us, what are your thoughts on this collection of Star Wars concept art? Is there one image in particular that you find particularly striking? Let us know in the usual place and remember, The Last Jedi is poised to launch on December 15th of this year.
