Hailed as one of the greatest contributions to science fiction of all time, George Lucas's Original Trilogy fundamentally changed not only the genre but the frontier of cinema. Beginning with Star Wars in 1977, he ushered in a sprawling world populated with dynamic characters, exciting storylines, and never-before-seen special effects, all of which have continued to dazzle fans for decades.

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Lucas altered what would eventually come to be known as the "Skywalker Saga" many times over the course of filming, and after the success of Star Wars, its sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi brought new challenges for character design. It was a long road from conception to celluloid, and the concept art from the Original Trilogy showcases just how different it might have been.

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker Star Wars original Ralph McQuarrie concept art

In early drafts of Star Wars (later retitled A New Hope), Luke Skywalker's name was Annakin Starkiller and often referred to as "Starkiller Hero" for much of the script. The Starkiller Hero was also female until George Lucas changed the character's gender.

In these original Ralph McQuarrie sketches, Starkiller Hero looks very utilitarian, with very little to suggest a future Jedi Knight (she carries a blaster on her hip and no lightsaber). While these designs didn't inform Luke's ultimate appearance all that much, they were the inspiration for Rey's look when fans first see her scavenging a Star Destroyer in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Leia Organa

Princess Leia Star Wars concept art by Ralph McQuarrie

With a title that indicates galactic royalty, Princess Leia could have had some substantially more opulent costumes, but ultimately Lucas scaled down her attire to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional. Ralph McQuarrie's first sketch of Leia makes her appear much more glamorous, while his second sketch is indicative of the outfit she wears in A New Hope.

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His final sketch, which he based on Debbie Reynolds (Carrie Fisher's mother), never made it into the Original Trilogy, but it was used in Star Wars: Rebels in the episode where a young Princess Leia visits the planet Lothal.

Han Solo

Han Solo star wars original concept art by Ralph McQuarrie

Han Solo didn't always have the swagger of a gunslinger, and the rakish smuggler almost occupied Obi-Wan Kenobi's role as more of a mentor figure to a callow Luke Skywalker. Early McQuarrie sketches even indicate he had a lightsaber, not Luke.

The most notable difference is not only Han's older appearance but the fact that he sometimes sports a beard. Eventually, McQuarrie would draw him clean-shaven, with a hairstyle and facial shape more similar to Harrison Ford's.

Lando Calrissian

Lando Calrissian Star Wars original concept art by Ralph McQuarrie

The character of Lando Calrissian was always in Lee Brackett's first draft of The Empire Strikes Back, but he had a very different history. He was originally a refugee of the Clone Wars, he was initially a clone himself from a noble clan, until Lucas decided to go in another direction with the concept of the Clone Wars altogether.

Lucas described Lando as "handsome as Rudolph Valentino, and almost not quite real", and Leia's original suspicious attitude towards him being a clone was changed into simply him coming off a little too suave. McQuarrie's initial sketch includes the likeness of Billy Dee Williams, who so memorably brought Lando to life.

Chewbacca

Chewbacca Star Wars A New Hope Concept Art

Everyone's favorite Wookiee looked quite a bit different in McQuarrie's original sketch, which saw the ordinarily shaggy bipedal appear to also have amphibian features, as well as large and pointed ears. Chewie looks like something Han would have encountered in the Coruscanti underworld rather than the lush arboreal world of Kashyyyk.

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The most notable thing about Chewie's early appearance isn't just the lack of hair - he's also wearing clothes. He sports some sort of one-piece with utilitarian pouches strapped over it, as well as pointed shoes. While Chewbacca ended up looking quite different, this design was used to create Garazeb Orrelios as well as other Lasats for Star Wars: Rebels.

C-3PO & R2-D2

The only two characters to be featured in every single episode of the Skywalker Saga, R2-D2 and C-3PO can almost be viewed as the ambassadors of Star Wars. The anthropomorphic droids have been important emissaries of the films since the beginning, and have mostly stayed true to their original identities.

McQuarrie's original design for the pair looked like something out of Metropolis, a film from 1927 that combined science fiction with German expressionism and presented a futuristic world ahead of its time.

Yoda

Yoda Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Concept Art

Yoda has always been a beloved figure in Star Wars mythology, providing a mystical tether between the films in the Skywalker Saga, as well as inspiring the now-ubiquitous character of "Baby Yoda" in The Mandalorian series.

Ralph McQuarrie's original design for Yoda made him a humanoid, with pale skin, long pointed ears, and an outfit that most resembled a Christmas elf or a garden gnome. Luke's training montage on Dagobah would have looked very different if this version had been kept in The Empire Strikes Back.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader duelling a Jedi Concept art from Ralph McQuarrie

One of the most iconic characters to emerge from the Original Trilogy, Darth Vader has always loomed large over not only the Skywalker Saga but the entire Star Wars franchise. He's been touted as one of the most popular characters in pop culture, and one of cinema's greatest villains.

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McQuarrie's basis for Vader's original appearance was on the samurai warriors of feudal Japan, and Vader's helmet and Sith armor is very evocative of that influence. Though McQuarrie's early concept art shows Vader with a much more angular, insectoid mask, a great deal of the overall design ended up as the final version of Vader seen in A New Hope and beyond.

The Emperor

The Emperor force lightning luke concept art The Return of the Jedi

The Emperor didn't make a physical appearance in any Star Wars film until Return of the Jedi when he arrived on the second Death Star to oversee final preparations. Vader ended up bringing his son to Palpatine's throne room in the hopes of his master turning Luke to the dark side, but Luke proved he would always be a Jedi.

Though the Emperor was a grizzled old man by the time of his confrontation with young Skywalker, McQuarrie initially envisioned him as a much more alien creature. Outrageously tall in this early concept art, with glowing red eyes, blue skin, and large pointed ears, he almost looks like Supreme Leader Snoke if he were a wizard.

Jabba The Hutt

Jabba the Hutt concept art by Ralph McQuarrie

Introduced for the first time in Return of the Jedi, Jabba the Hutt made quite the impression with his enormous girth, booming laugh, and salacious appetite for death and destruction. In the theatrical release of A New Hope, he was a human, but this was later changed in the Special Edition version of the film.

McQuarrie initially envisioned Jabba as have much longer arms, and a pincer-like tail. He was even given two head tails, which didn't end up in his final appearance, but were given to Bib Fortuna, his adviser and a member of the Twi'lek species who would become known for their lekku.

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