Star Wars: Stunning Concept Art of the Original Trilogy
Concept art is always fun to flip through. With its long-ago far-future and larger than life space setting Star Wars art is some of the best.
Concept art is always one of my favorite parts of movie making to see. It’s incredibly interesting to follow the first idea of what characters and locations would look like and watch how they evolve into the final product by the end. And within the concept and behind-the-scenes art world, Star Wars’ original trilogy’s art is some of the best out there. Between extra stylized art, the fantasy elements, and shifts in art style since the original trilogy came out, Star Wars has some especially fun concept art to look through.
Art by Ralph McQuarrie
This very early drawing of what would eventually become Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker has always been one of my favorites. The breathing apparatus that never makes it into the actual films adds a very cool, classic sci-fi look that would have made going from ship to ship easier. Especially in a universe less equip for humanoid creatures. The lightsaber designs here are also so similar but so different. Vader is by and large unchanged, but his stature in this art makes him even more imposing and larger than life. That said, it seems like they really figured out how to make a perfectly scary villain almost right away. Luke took a little more tinkering before he landed on that perfect farmboy trope.
Art by Ralph McQuarrie
Storm Troopers with lightsabers? Why not! In a version of the galaxy where they’re less individualized and more commonplace, it could have been pretty neat to see more non-Jedi characters wield them. In the end, I’m glad they decided to make them more special and rare. Storm Troopers can hardly aim with a blaster, it wouldn’t have been pretty to see what they’d do with a lightsaber.
Art by Ralph McQuarrie
This could have been a piece of concept art or a painting that someone made after watching the movie; it’s that close to the final product. It looks a little more like a video game than a movie, but I loved that. And the bright orange blasts against the grays and blacks of Imperial space are perfect.
Art by Ralph McQuarrie
Another that is so strikingly similar to the final product, this AT-AT takedown is basically exactly what we got on Hoth on the big screen. This one and the X-Wing above show how beautiful concept art can be and I’d like to hang prints of either (or both) of these pieces on my wall.
Art by Ralph McQuarrie
If that spider looks familiar, you may be thinking of the terrifying swarm of monsters from the ice planet we spent an episode on in The Mandalorian. While this art is from The Empire Strikes Back and shows what would have probably been one of Luke’s less fun Dagobah adventures, this particular creature didn’t make the cut and never saw screen time.
Art By Christian Alzmann
Until years later when they were dusted off and given new life in the animated Rebels and then again with their cold-weather cousins in The Mandalorian. This obviously isn’t original trilogy art, but it’s nice to see how seemingly discarded art can come back around and find new life.
Do you enjoy concept art as much as I do? What is your favorite piece of Star Wars concept art? Is it similar to what we ended up seeing on screen? Let us know in the comments!
May The Force Be With You, Adventurers!
