Star Wars: 10 Character Concept Art Pieces From The Sequel Trilogy
Despite being a divisive inclusion in the Skywalker Saga, the Disney Sequel Trilogy has the same epic scale and imaginative visual components as the rest of the popular space opera. Its bold new characters have become standout heroes and villains in the Star Wars franchise, and nowhere is its process of world-building more abundant than in its concept art, much of which is compiled in the beautiful books The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Many of the characters featured in the three films underwent a great deal of transformation before becoming who fans saw on the screen. The concept art reveals the often massive gap in the creative process from initial idea to reality, and fans will be surprised how similar -or dissimilar- their favorite characters are from their original manifestations.
10 Rey
Originally named Kira in the first drafts of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey went through quite a few visual transformations until arriving at the resilient scavenger-turned-Jedi fans know from the films. The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens by Phil Szostak reveals Rey once looked far more glamorous than her scrappy counterpart.
Eventually, Rey developed a personality in part based on her clothing, designed for her self-reliant and independent lifestyle in The Force Awakens, for the physicality during Jedi training under Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and for the rapid movements necessary for her lightsaber duels with Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
9 BB-8
Just like R2-D2 and C-3PO, BB-8 continued the Star Wars tradition of bringing lots of human personality to a mechanical entity. The anthropomorphic droid underwent a few different changes prior to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but seemed to always maintain his spherical shape.
Early concept art for the droid appears to outfit his round body with more of a single-tread wheel like D-O from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and later dozens of greeblies (a term created by the props department of Star Wars: A New Hope to represent the plastic tchotchkes placed on everything from ships and weapons to droids).
8 Finn & Poe
In early drafts of the script for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the character of Finn was a blonde stormtrooper named Sam, and he had a very different appearance than actor John Boyega who ultimately took on the role. Poe had a completely shaved head and a much larger build than actor Oscar Isaac.
Their relationship seemed to be very much the same as presented in the film, with concept art showing Finn and Poe helping each other escape from a First Order ship and crash landing on Jakku.
7 Maz Kanata
With more than a thousand years of experience in the galaxy Maz Kanata, like Jedi Master Yoda has seen the rise and fall of the Jedi Knights, the Galactic Empire, and the Republic. In her castle on Takodana, she helps facilitate a thriving underworld culture, in which she often acts as an operative.
Maz looked quite a bit more frightening than her owlish appearance in The Force Awakens according to this concept art, which sees her without her helpful goggles, and a lot more myopic. Even after her final appearance in the Sequel Trilogy, her character left viewers with a lot of questions.
6 Leia Organa
Since Carrie Fisher was returning to the role of Leia Organa, little needed to be changed in terms of her appearance, so concept artists developed an extensive wardrobe for her to wear throughout the Sequel Trilogy that reflected certain ensembles she'd worn in the Original Trilogy.
Leia wore more flowing garments as she matured in the Star Wars novels that took place after the fall of the Galactic Empire, and began to once again assume political responsibilities during the rise of the New Republic. In that way, they resemble the garments worn by her mother, Senator Amidala of Naboo. Her tactical ensembles were, just like General Organa herself, supposed to be both stylish and utilitarian.
5 Han Solo
The return of Han Solo, one of the most popular characters from the Original Trilogy, was undeniably exciting for fans. When he stepped into the Millennium Falcon with his trusty co-pilot Chewbacca, cinemas around the world erupted into applause.
Since Harrison Ford was returning to the part, concept art only featured drastic changes to his costume, which originally included a long coat and more scruff. This look was later given to Beckett in Solo: A Star Wars Story, Han Solo's mentor.
4 Luke Skywalker
The inclusion of Luke Skywalker, one of the most important characters and components in the Skywalker Saga, was of utmost importance to the Sequel Trilogy. Even as it expanded on the adventures of new characters, it had to give Luke proper character development, even if fans weren't always happy with the changes.
Luke's concept art reveals that his appearance and costume didn't change all that much from what appeared on screen, especially in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, though he never cradled his father's helmet. Hamill was made to look very much like his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi when Kenobi first found young Luke on Tatooine.
3 Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren's character went through the most preliminary transformations while the Sequel Trilogy was being made, in large part due to the fact that since his character was a surrogate Vader, he needed to resemble the infamous Sith Lord while also looking unique.
Early concept art for Star Wars: The Force Awakens included a mask and set of armor that very much resembled Vader's, and even after Star Wars: The Last Jedi, when he destroyed his mask, concept art imagined him fashioning one that even more closely resembled Vader's, but this idea was later scrapped.
2 Supreme Leader Snoke
Supreme Leader Snoke was always meant to be some sort of alien being, and J.J. Abrams was very particular about him not being an old grizzled human. Instead, he became a hulking grotesquerie transformed not so much by age as by lacerations from his past.
In concept art from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, in which he's seen holding up Rey in his throne room, he looks very much like Emperor Palpatine, right down to his expression and robed garments.
1 Anakin Skywalker
At one point, Hayden Christensen was considered to return to the role of Anakin Skywalker for an appearance in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Instead of the ghost of his father Han Solo appearing before him, Kylo Ren would see a ghost of his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker.
As this concept art reveals, Skywalker would have presented himself in a form that fused his mangled appearance in and out of the Sith armor he wore as Darth Vader, Ren's idol. Unfortunately, the concept was scrapped, but the provocative imagery remains.