SWTFA Concept Art
Fire & Ice Concept (Jan. 2013)
To symbolize the inner conflict of Kylo Ren/Ben Solo (known only as Jedi Killer at this point), and the two sides of the Force he represented, the antagonist was initially going to have separate red and blue beams, per artist Erik Tiemens. At one point during the concept phase, when Michael Arndt was still involved as screenwriter, Ren was given this unique double-bladed lightsaber, which eventually gave way to his crossguard weapon.
Alt. Kira (Jan. 2013)
At the outset, our heroine Rey had a different name (Kira) but the same plucky spirit, captured here in this “guided imagery” sketch from the conceptual phase.
Trooper G (March 2013)
Elements of this cloaked trooper would be repurposed with an early Kylo Ren design to create the signature look of Captain Phasma. The single eye slot recalls the Cylons from
Battlestar Galactica.
Imperial Rally (April 2013)
“I just took Olympic Third Reich photos, put them on my computer screen, modeled them in 3D, and put in little TIE fighters instead of guys. And I switched the flag logo to the Empire logo,” says artist Yanick Dusseault of this image created during the concept phase. J.J. Abrams closely matched this visual for the scene when General Hux addresses the First Order troops on Starkiller Base shortly before the attack on the Hosnian System
Rally Site Troops View (March 2014)
J.J. Abrams stuck close to Kevin Jenkins’s pre-production rendering of the First Order forces mustered at Starkiller Base.
TIE Loading Wide
James Clyne conceived this look at the hangar of Hux and Ren’s flagship Star Destroyer,
Finalizer. Although the design of Ren’s shuttle became more streamlined, the stacked TIEs were virtually unchanged in the final cut.
Jedi Killer in Snow
This dramatic image by Doug Chiang, used as the book’s cover, perfectly captures the feel of Kylo Ren, referred to as Jedi Killer in early drafts.
TIE Loader
“Jedi Killer New Concept”
Rey with bike
I REALLY WISH THAT THEY WOULD HAVE GIVEN THIS CHARACTER MORE SHINE IN EP7! Maybe he will get it in ep8. In TFA, he was gonna take Fin to the outer rim. But imagine what he could have been as a bad guy?
Captain Ithano
THE FORCE GHOST OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER WAS PROPOSED TO BE IN THE FORCE AWAKENS!
I recently picked up the
Art Of Star Wars The Force Awakens book, and in it concept artist Iain Mccaig explains how he proposed the idea of having the Force Ghost of Anakin Skywalker appear in Episode VII! I think that this idea may still be forming and we may actually see this come true in Episode 8.
Rumors have been circulating over the last few months that the stunt team that worked on Force Awakens is also training Hayden Christensen who portrayed Anakin Skywalker in the prequels. I have taken some screenshots of the Anakin ghost pages from the book, check them out:
This quote is very interesting to me as i believe it is insinuating that Luke communs with the force ghost of Anakin. I think he actually did in the time he spent on that island before Rey finds him, it would make sense.
Now this is the more interesting information on the concept of Anakin’s force ghost. It seems as if when Anakin died, he did not fully go completely light in the force. They explain how Anakin would flow back and forth between both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. I am speculating that in Episode 8, we will see Anakin talking to Kylo Ren as Darth Vader, and talking to Rey as Anakin Skywalker. This concept is to good not to use. I am sure in the coming months we will find out if Hayden truly has been cast in Episode VIII, but until that time, speculate away! You can pick up the book on
Amazon.Com or wherever books are sold!
