See Exclusive 'Solo' Concept Art From 'The Art Of Solo: A Star Wars Story' Book
Solo: A Star Wars Story is now playing in theaters everywhere. Also available: The Art of Solo: A Star Wars Story, a book loaded with great concept art that tracks the creation of the film's many worlds and characters.
Below, check out some exclusive Solo concept art from The Art of Solo.
This piece of concept art, titled "Uncoupling Version 15", is by Molly Sole and James Clyne, and depicts a moment from the big train heist scene that occurs near the beginning of Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Qi’ra Concept Art
Qi'ra, the character played by Emilia Clarke, went through several different incarnations during pre-production. At one point, her name was Kura. And at yet another point, she was an alien-human hybrid. This concept art by Glyn Dillon, titled "Teen K Parka Version 02", depicts the character as a teenager – likely during the film's opening scene. It also doesn't represent Emilia Clarke. As co-costume designer David Crossman says in the book:
"Glyn did the very early Qi'ra picture with a shaved head, red ombre face, and a chunky feather-cut haircut. I love that picture. It's one of my favorites. There were similar makeup tests done on background people, but never in that way on Emilia Clarke. She was shootingGame of Thrones, so her availability was pretty much nil. It has to be the right person to make all of those things work; it probably wouldn't work on Emilia. Sometimes, ideas are better in a drawing."
Frontier Trooper
The Frontier Troopers in Solo and yet another new group of Empire Stormtroopers to join the Star Wars universe. "We got sheepskin coats of Stalingrad-type thickness as a basis and out huge collars on them," says co-costume designer David Crossman. "And then oversized armor goes over the top of those coats to add to the volume. Everything about the range troopers has big volume. The boots have something like one hundred and five parts and are very complicated to make. They had to produce an instruction manual to assemble them. Our brilliant team in the North Dock figured those out. We talked to special effects, and they added canisters at the back of the boot for the steam. We had to sync them up so the lights, steam, and everything work at the same time." This concept art was created by Glyn Dillon.
Proxima
At the beginning of Solo, young Han is trying to break away from a gang run by an alien known as Lady Proxima. In the final film, Proxima is a giant worm-like creature, but in early concept art, she looked a bit different. "I love the A New Hope trash compactor-esque psychology of Han walking into this water and not really knowing what is beneath his feet," says Star Wars creature designer Neal Scanlan. "Every step he takes, there is some form of organic life. Proxima is like some sort of plant with roots growing out – all consuming. Everything is feeding off of everything, including her aides and these tiny pod-like babies that are being spawned off of her. It's' a great concept." This early Proxima art is by Luke Fisher.
Here's some early concept art depicting Lando and L3. Artists were going for a Jimi Hendrix feel with the early Lando concept art, and L3 looks a lot different than her final form in the film. This art, by Glyn Dillon, happens to contain a Star Wars Easter Egg. As Dillon himself explains:
"The pattern on his scarf is an Easter egg: I took a still from A New Hope where Luke is swinging across the chasm with Princess Leia and adjusted the levels so it was dark and the pull lights on the Death Star were hard white. Donald Glover really knows how to wear this kind of outfit. It's Lando on his way up, isn't it? His costume is still a bit rock 'n' roll and young, but you can tell that he has a pride in the way he looks. We all know where he's heading."
Sabaac Game
This piece, by Adam Brockbank, depicts the Sabaac game in which Han tries to win the Millennium Falcon from Lando. "This is definitely a showcase moment, more so than any other scene that we've had so far," says Neal Scanlan. "We are around a table, and these guys are playing cards with human actors. We've got to respond accordingly. There are Star Wars ingredients, just like there are James bond ingredients. If there isn't a sexy girl in James Bond, it's not a James Bond film. That's just the way it is. It's great. It's Star Wars. We are a table with aliens playing cards for the Millennium Falcon! It doesn't get better, does it?"
The Art of Solo: A Star Wars Story is now available from Abrams Books.