LucasFilm Concept Designer Wraps on STAR WARS: EPISODE IX Shares Look Back at His Work

One way we know that we are inching ever closer to the release of Star Wars: Episode IX (I mean, we’re not that close. It’s over a year away, and we don’t even know the title. But still!) is that concept designer Jake Lunt Davies has finished work on the picture. He has worked on all five of the Disney era Star Wars films, and as his contract ended he took a moment to reflect on the creatures he has created and the people he has worked with. He posted the following collage of his creations on Instagram, along with a sweet note thanking the people who build his designs and the directors he worked with, plus the inimitable Kathleen Kennedy, the executive who keeps it all running.

So this week my contract ended on Star Wars EpIX....which kind of means after 5 years and 5 movies, I've finally finished on Star Wars. As a kid this was my childhood ambition and I still can't believe that I've now actually had this opportunity to be part of and contribute to the legacy of the Star Wars galaxy. Above are a few of the things I designed for TFA, Rogue 1, TLJ and Solo. However as much as I and my concept colleagues @lukedfisher @martin_rezard and Ivan Manzella get to dream up all these characters and ideas, none of it would happen or become reality without the brilliant team we work with under Neal Scanlan's leadership - the sculptors; the mould makers, foam shop and seamers; the fabrication team; the model makers; the mechies, animatronic designers and electronics guys; the hair team; the painters and make-up artists; and the performers that finally bring these creatures to life. Thank you Neal for asking me to be part of the team. Beyond the CFX department I'd also thank Costume Designers Michael Kaplan, @glyn_dillon and Dave Crossman plus the CG artists at @ilmvfx for adding their magic to our work. And thanks to JJ, @riancjohnson, Gareth Edwards, @realronhoward, Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Kathleen Kennedy for going with my designs for your movies. #starwars #theforceawakens #tfa #episodevii #rogueone #thelastjedi #episodeviii #tlj #solo #soloastarwarsstory #episodeix #bb8 #porg #porgs #reysspeeder #luggabeast #conceptdesign #creaturedesign #creaturefx #animatronic #ilmvfx #ambitionfulfilled

1,494 Likes, 127 Comments - Jake Lunt Davies (@jakeluntdavies) on Instagram: "So this week my contract ended on Star Wars EpIX....which kind of means after 5 years and 5 movies,..."

What a mind Davies has! Look at the diversity of not just the Star Wars universe, but Davies’s creations. Droids, vehicles, a whole slew of alien species in various dress and armors… I am in awe of his creativity. I just don’t have that inside me. But it’s pretty great that millions of people can see and enjoy and be moved by his conceptions at the movie theater.

As Davies acknowledges, he comes up with the ideas and then other people, like a thousand other people, get to work to bring them to life on screen, so him being finished with his work just means that there is lots of work left to do. Episode IX is currently in production, and J.J. Abrams is directing the cast and crew, including Oscar Isaac, Naomi Ackie, John Boyega, Anthony Daniels, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Mark Hamill, Billie Lourd, Lupita Nyong’o, Daisy Ridley, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, and Billy Dee Williams.

We’ve got about a year and a month, or 392 days, until it opens on December 20, 2019. We’ll keep clinging to whatever scraps come our way until then.