20 STAR WARS RETURN OF THE JEDI Concept Art Illustrations by Ralph McQuarrie

Ralph McQuarrie was a legendary concept artist who created most of the visual for the Star Wars films. Some of his greatest works were for the third movie filmed Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) where he helped design breathtaking scenes like the Speeder Bike Chase created legendary monsters like the Rancor Monster.

These images are scanned by Eric Carl from a set of Ralph McQuarrie prints that were part of the "Return of the Jedi Portfolio."

Check out the rest of the pics after the jump and remember to click on the images to enlarge them.

1. "C-3PO and R2-D2 are once again back on the harsh desert planet of Tatooine where, in STAR WARS, they escaped an Imperial attack and first met Luke Skywalker. They have returned to the desolate planet to deliver a holographic message from Luke to Jabba the Hut, the dreaded monarch of the galactic underworld. There are a thousand places in the galaxy that C-3PO would prefer to be rather than outside Jabba's fortresslike palace, but he will carry out the instructions from his young master."

2. "Not yet accustomed to the gloomy interior of the arched tunnel entrance to Jabba the Hutt's palace, C-3PO and R2-D2 are confronted by Jabba's major domo, Bib Fortuna, a human-like alien with long tentacles protruding from his skull. A giant metal door slowly closes out the blinding desert sunlight and their last possibility of retreat. Several palace inhabitants look on as Bib Fortuna instructs the droids to follow him to the throne room."

3. "Inside the throne room, Jabba the Hutt's favorite musical trio entertains the court. The leggy singer Sy Snootles, is accompanied by Mex Rebo on the keyboard, an instrument that is part calliope and part piano; Droopy McCool, the woodwind expert, performs a clarinetlike instrument. Listening in the background are Salacious Crumb; Hermi Odle; a jawa; and one of Jabba's elite skiff guards."

4. "Threepio and Artoo-Detoo pay a visit to the dungeon boiler room in the subterranean depths of Jabba's palace where droids are taken to be tortured. They are confronted by EV-9D9, a tall, thin, humanlike robot who heads Jabba's droid operations, and EV's assistant, 8D8. Threepio is terrified of the awesome Gamorrean guard standing next to him. These huge, powerful creatures are Jabba's personal guards; it is wise to treat them very politely."

 

5. "An unarmed Luke Skywalker must fight the dreaded Rancor, an enormous, carnivorous beast that lives in a pit below Jabba's throne room. The Rancor's dungeon like cage is twenty-five feet below the throne; the grate at the top allows Jabba and his court to amuse themselves by watching the Rancor devour whomever—or whatever—is dropped down to it. Having disposed of one of Jabba's guards, the Rancor turns its attention to Luke."

6. "Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, and Han Solo (recently released from his state of suspended animation) have been sentenced to death by Jabba the Hutt. Out in the desolate wastes of the Tatooine desert, the members of Jabba's bizarre court gather at the windows of his immense Sail Barge to watch the festivities. Suspended above the desert floor on one of the antigravity skiffs, our heroes make a desperate stand and battle for their lives against the skiff guards."

7. "On one of the desert skiffs, Luke, Chewbacca, Han and Lando Calrissian watch anxiously as Jabba the Hutt's immense Sail Barge is rocked by explosions and bursts into flame."

8. "Luke Skywalker races through the forest on a speeder bike, trying to outrun a patrol of Imperial scouts on Endor. A small moon near the Death Star, Endor is covered by dense foliage and a thick forest of ancient, towering trees. The speeder bike, which Luke stole from an Imperial scout, is an antigravity vehicle capable of speeds up to 200 miles an hour."

9. "Inside the vast docking bay of the unfinished Death Star, Darth Vader and one of his officers deplane from the Imperial shuttle, followed by several of the the Emperor's dignitaries. The Galactic Emperor's guards, ominously cloaked and helmeted in red, watch every movement carefully."

10. "On the heavily forested Moon of Endor, our heroes have been captured by a scouting party of Ewoks, small, furry creatures with huge eyes. Thinking that C-3PO is a god, the Ewoks bear him ceremoniously back to their village on an improvised throne. Han Solo, a mere mortal, is carried trussed and hanging from a pole."

11. "Dressed in a simple forest outfit made of leather, Princess Leia enters the Ewok village with Wicket, who has befriended her. Built high above the ground in the giant trees of Endor, the village is made up of mud huts and a central square connected by rickety walkways. Other Ewoks come running to find out what news Wicket has and to get a closer look at the princess."

12. "Darth Vader, his black robes flowing behind him, strides purposefully down the walkway of the lower level of the Imperial landing platform on Endor. On the right, a giant AT-AT walker discharges a patrol of Imperial troops who have Luke Skywalker in manacles."

13. "Deep in the forest of Endor, the Rebels must infiltrate the Imperial bunker, in order to deactivate the energy shield protecting the Death Star. The Ewoks have been persuaded to help; armed with their primitive weapons—a catapult, bows and arrows, spears, and an airborne battalion—they take on the Imperial All Terrain Scout Transports, the giant AT-ST walkers."

14. "In the Emperor's throne room on the new and powerful Death Star, Luke Skywalker—having finished his training as a Jedi Knight—must once again do battle with Darth Vader, lightsaber against lightsaber. Luke must use all his powers of concentration to try and defeat the man who says he is his father."

15. "A confrontation in the throne room between the Emperor, the supreme ruler of the Galactic Empire, and Luke Skywalker. Although he appears to be a small, shriveled old man, the Emperor, with his piercing yellow eyes and his aged face covered partially by a cloak, has strange and secret powers that he uses to make men do his bidding."

"Two Rebel A-wing fighter planes race toward the Death Star, while in the distance a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers awaits the forth-coming battle."

"An armada of Rebel cruisers, led by Admiral Ackbar's flagship, are silhouetted against the monumental surface of the Death Star. Two A-wing fighters in the distance are speeding to a confrontation with the Imperial Star Destroyers, which have already opened fire on the Rebel ships. The glowing surface of Endor provides a small amount of reflected light as the Rebel and Imperial forces engage in a deadly space battle."

"The B-wing fighter, a new type of ship with pilot and copilot enclosed in a command pod on one wing, becomes part of the massive Rebel attack on the Death Star. One of the B-wings has just scored a shattering, explosive hit on an Imperial Star Destroyer."


"Inside the dome-shaped interior of the gigantic unfinished Death Star, the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Lando Calrissian, and a tiny X-wing fighter try to score a direct hit on the Death Star's reactor. If successful, they will break the Empire's grip on the galaxy once and for all."

Wikipedia Description:
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (also known as Return of the Jedi) is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan, with Lucas as executive producer. It is chronologically the sixth film in the Star Wars franchise and the first film to use THX technology. The film is set approximately one year after The Empire Strikes Back. The evil Galactic Empire, under the direction of the ruthless Emperor Palpatine, is building a second Death Star in order to crush the Rebel Alliance. Since Emperor Palpatine plans to personally oversee the final stages of its construction, the Rebel Fleet launches a full-scale attack on the Death Star in order to prevent its completion and kill Palpatine, effectively bringing an end to the Empire. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, a Rebel leader and Jedi Knight, struggles to bring Vader, who is his father and himself a fallen Jedi, back from the Dark Side of the Force.

Directed by Richard Marquand
Produced by Howard Kazanjian
Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas
Story by George Lucas
Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Ian McDiarmid, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Frank Oz

See buy artwork and prints of Ralph McQuarrie's work at http://dreamsandvisionspress.com/ralphmcquarrie.aspx

Images via Flickr (Eric Carl)

 

What do you think of the illustrations? What was your favorite scene from Return of the Jedi?

@ Copyright 1983 Lucasfilm, Ralph McQuarrie. All rights reserved