STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Trailer Features Palpatine Throne Room Design Created by Ralph McQuarrie in 1981
While Star Wars fans continue to gush over the final trailer for The Rise of Skywalker that was released last night, I’ve got a cool little detail to share with you from that trailer!
There’s a cool shot of Emperor Palpatine’s throne and throne room in the trailer. Well, it looks like J.J. Abrams and the creative team took a dive into some old concept art created for George Lucas’s original Star Wars movies. The design for that throne room comes directly from a piece of 1981 concept art created by original Star Wars artist Ralph McQuarrie.
Check out a screenshot from the trailer along with the concept art that inspired it:
This detail was pointed out by Lucasfilm creative art manager Phil Szostak on Twitter:
1981 Emperor’s throne room thumbnail sketches by Ralph McQuarrie for #ReturnoftheJedi. #StarWars #TheRiseOfSkywalker pic.twitter.com/I6insw60vJ
— Phil Szostak (@PhilSzostak) October 22, 2019
It’s been pretty cool seeing some of McQuarrie’s unused work from the original Star Wars films actually end up being used in these new projects all these years later. McQuarrie played such a huge role in helping Lucas build the world of Star Wars. He is the guy who gave it its incredible visual look and style.