The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

by Phil Szostak

The official behind-the-scenes concept, production, and post-production art for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Go inside the creative process behind the most anticipated film of the century. The latest trilogy in the Star Wars film series brings the Skywalker Saga to a close and The Art of The Rise of Skywalker will take readers into the creative process behind visualizing the epic worlds, creatures, characters, costumes, weapons and vehicles of the landmark conclusion more than 40 years in the making.

Genres: Star Wars, Art, Nonfiction, Film, Media Tie In, Fandom, Coffee Table Books

256 pages, Hardcover

Published March 31, 2020

Reviews

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love "Art of..." movie books, and I've generally felt more enthusiastic about the behind-the-scenes aspects of the Star Wars sequel trilogy than about the actual films themselves. So I looked forward to seeing the concept art for The Rise of Skywalker—a film I liked quite a lot the first time I watched it, but less and less with each subsequent viewing.

The book opens with some concept artwork that was held back from The Art of The Last Jedi. This seems to indicate that Lucasfilm and the publishers realize that it's better to publish a book like this a few months after the film's release, so they don't have to withhold potential spoilers. But then this book doesn't say anything about the Emperor, even though that was no spoiler by the time of the book's release, so I guess the lesson hasn't been learned after all. Why publish a book that's deliberately incomplete?

I enjoyed looking at the fantastic creativity of the art and design team, evident throughout this book. But there are a couple of things that made me sad about this one. First is that I really think it's time for Star Wars to become something different. I love Ralph McQuarrie—absolutely one of my favorite artists—but I don't think every new design for every Star Wars movie has to be justified by pointing out that it's something you can see in the background of one of his concept pieces for the original Star Wars. Let's move on, seek out new life, new civilizations, and so on.

The other sadness that permeates the pages of the book is the obvious fact that the filmmakers had no idea what they were doing with this story. As I read about the movie's development, I sense that there is no real story that needs to be told, yet the filmmakers feel the full weight of this needing to be the conclusion to a nine-film series (which I don't think it needs to be at all; there's nothing about the original trilogy that requires anything in the sequel trilogy). Just a few months before filming began, co-writer Chris Terrio said,

There's a new script every morning. But we just keep going at it and going at it, loosely thinking that it's not good enough. It's never good enough. Luckily, the production team is so good that they can shift and adjust. We're course-correcting as we go—we're trying things, and some things don't work and some things aren't ambitious enough. Some things are overly ambitious. Some things are too dense. Some things are too simple. Some things are too nostalgic. Some things are too out-of-left-field. We're finding our balance (201).

Sigh. That quote really sums up all my frustrations with the sequel trilogy. Reading this book, I feel like the movie was created by J. J. Abrams thinking up 20 things he'd love to see in a Star Wars movie, and then narrowing that list down and figuring out how to make a story that does those things. Because of this, even the artwork (which is often very beautiful) gives me a kind of "Who cares?" feeling.

This is an up-and-down review of the book, I know. :) That's how a lot of us feel about SW these days.

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

~4.5 stars~

Well...this included the throne room scene with Rey and Kylo, the one I was wondering why wasn't in TLJ art book lol I noticed this was released after TROS came out, so I'm not sure why some of the bigger scenes including stuff with Palpatine and Ben's redemption arc weren't included in this one. That's the only thing I was disappointed about though really. Just seems like that would be something the majority of people reading this book would want to see :P Overall though I'm super glad I was able to read all of these! Really interesting to see some of the process that the writers and artists go through as their ideas develop and change. Though I wish there would've been more scenes included, I still recommend these books for fellow Star Wars fans :))

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

And so comes to the end (for the time being) the collecting of the artwork books from the Starwars films (it only now leaves the TV series till of course Disney needs more money and decides to go for a reboot or two).

This book has followed the trend I have seen with a number of other Rise OF Skywalker books - it has lost of little bit of its focus - the content and layout does not quite feel the same as how the other "art of.." books have been before - something I have noticed elsewhere as well.

Now I am not sure if this indicative of the fact that the whole film has lost some of its direction (I rather enjoyed it but reading some of the comments I fell like I am in the minority) and the supporting material sort of reflects that.

I would however disagree about the direction - if anything I think that the concept material captured in this book is even more interesting since it is less about what was in the film but more about what came about because of it - there are many scenes for example that never appeared in the film altogether.

So I have to say I have mixed feelings about this book - its a showcase for some amazingly talented people Doug Chiang will always have my admiration from Robota let alone his other amazing creations but at the same time do I think this is a fitting end to the saga - I am not sure - then again i am not sure what a fitting end would even be!

[Steve Ellerhoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Palpatine isn't even in the index and there are no concept designs of him or his audience chamber on Exegol. Utterly bizarre omission which is really disappointing. Everything else is fun to look at though.

[Ross Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really quite poor compared to the previous volumes. Nothing at all of Palpatine or Exegol. What was the point of delaying release? The most interesting stuff is actually about the previous movie. Disappointing.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, by Phil Szostak, is a collection of concept art made for the new Star Wars film. This film was a huge disappointment for me as a fan of the series as a whole. The concepts, however, are quite good. The fandom behind Star Wars can generate some amazing lore and visuals, and this book proves the norm. Some surface level enjoyment of this one as a quick read, but with the disappointing aspects of the new film, it was not wholly enjoyable as the vision of the creators seems repressed.

[C.J. Bunce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at BORG magazine.

The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker spans the galaxy and offers some surprises

Review by C.J. Bunce

As the ninth and final film in the Skywalker Saga arrives in a home video release, the fifth volume from Abrams Books chronicling the entirety of the Disney-era Star Wars concept artwork is here. The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker does not disappoint in showing readers the expansive designs for a film that stepped ahead of its predecessor with more ships, more action, more aliens, more weaponry, and more costume designs. Our only hope is that Abrams obtains the rights to create a similar volume continuing this series of books, documenting the first season of The Mandalorian. One thing every fan will notice who has watched all eleven movies in the franchise–more than ever readers can now clearly see elements from each prequel, each original trilogy episode, and each Star Wars Story film incorporated into the sets, ships, and characters in this final installment.

As with the first two books in the trilogy, this look at the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker shows paths taken and, more interestingly, paths not taken by production designer Rick Carter, franchise veteran Kevin Jenkins, and the rest of the art design team. This includes alternate costumes for Rey, Finn, Poe, Lando, Zorii, and Jannah, new pilots, stormtroopers, droids, and new worlds of creature concepts. Probably more than the past volumes in the series, this book has close-up detailed views at props, including lightsaber and other weaponry, all in search of that design element that says “Star Wars” to the movie audience.

Read more of this review here at BORG.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following the same format as Szostak’s “The Art Of The Force Awakens” and “Last Jedi”, this takes “The Rise Of Skywalker” from initial concept art (along with spoiler images from “The Last Jedi”) right through to the end of production. Lucasfilm and Abrams have this kind of thing down perfected now and the book is beautifully designed, the artwork perfectly reproduced. But the tone has shifted, in that the others featured big spreads of imagery while this kind of gets bogged down in detail, so we get a whole run of “here’s a blaster” with various iterations that look almost identical (and the “wizard” is a case in point too) so it starts to feel samey very quickly. Szostak’s workman-like writing hasn’t improved at all, with the “making of” sections coming over dry and flat, along with his seeming assumption the reader has very limited retention skills (JJ Abrams is often “director JJ…” to make sure we don’t forget). His hero worship of Rick Carter (who doesn’t do much “reaching out” this time round but is still full of odd philosophical ramblings) is also unfortunately fully intact. As with all the films in this trilogy, everyone mentions going back to Ralph McQuarrie and mining his work from the 70s yet no-one seems to find the irony in there being an army of designers on his film against the three or four designers on the first trilogy, or that the work from then is superior to now. There’s also a huge missed opportunity with very little on the new fleet and absolutely nothing on Palpatine. I love Star Wars, I enjoyed this film and I love this kind of art book (and Doug Chiang’s foreword is wonderful) but, I have to say, this did try my patience.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

People who know me know that TROS is farrrrr from my favorite movie. That being said, I typically find the Art of books incredibly exciting and my favorite movie-adjacent book. While my dislike of the movie may factor into my opinion of this book, I just don't feel that this one was as strong as past installments. With the release date having been pushed back, I expected more. Some of the most interesting designs (Exegol, specifically) were completely absent, and I didn't get a good feel for the design sense of the movie here.

[Will Plunkett · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you were disappointed that there weren't any deleted scenes on the TROS Blu-Ray/DVD, get this book to read about and see pre-production images of them. These Star Wars Art of... books from the Disney era are often "spoiler-free," not mentioning secrets that appear in the films but not the trailers; so most of the surprises on-screen are ignored here.

[Dominic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've made no secret of my disappointment in The Rise of Skywalker (TROS), particularly in Ben Solo's redemption arc. However, whatever my feelings about the final film, I find the process of making Star Wars movies fascinating. I always make it a point to pick up the "Art of Star Wars" books by Lucasfilm creative art manager Phil Szostak, which collects concept art used to bring director J.J. Abram and writer Chris Terrio's story to life.

Szostak's book on TROS has some visually stunning artwork for creatures and outfits - including some pieces that are more interesting than anything seen in the final film. In fact, I'm somewhat struck by just how much the film and the concept designs leaned into the Original Trilogy aesthetic. In the book, Terrio is quoted as acknowledging the criticism that the Sequel Trilogy relies too heavily the original films... but then justified that as part of a theme: this generation has to fight the same conflicts as the last.

As a result, as with The Force Awakens, I think the production design for TROS is a bit too faithful to the look of the Original Trilogy. Ralph McQuarrie, the key concept artist for the original Star Wars, is quoted reverentially in the book - with good reason. However, some of the best designs in the book find a way to both fit Ralph's style and to do something new. For example, the snow planet Kijimi was inspired by Japanese architecture from Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, but modified with embellishments reminiscent of buildings in Ralph's work. As a setting, Kilimi works wonderfully - both as a concept and in execution.

It's quite clear that Szostak was not allowed to discuss some of the more embarrassing aspects of TROS's production, such as the firing of director Colin Trevorrow and the rushed schedule. Nevertheless, the book - perhaps unintentionally - provides some insight into the chaos. Compared to The Last Jedi, much of the concept art for TROS seems intended to brainstorm ideas rather than to illustrate a coherent vision for a story. Terrio admits that the script went through many revisions, some of them significant. There's a lot of artwork focused on ideas that that ultimately never made it into the film.

Unfortunately, Szostak doesn't show or even acknowledge concept art for Treverrow's Duel of the Fates script. Some of this concept art and the full script leaked online, providing a fascinating look at an alternative Episode IX. Of course, it's unfair a draft script with the final film, especially given that Treverrow's version was written before Carrie Fisher's passing and relied far more on Leia. Still, I wish Szostak had at least discussed some of this art and how Lucasfilm's artists changed their approach when J.J. Abrams joined the project.

Also disappointing is the lack of any concept art of the planet Exegol or the Emperor. Szostak has said this art was deliberately left out of the book in order to avoid leaks. However, the trailer for TROS at Star Wars Celebration revealed Palpatine's presence in the film - back in April 2019. This "Art of" book came out in March 2020 - surely enough time to revise the book to include some images that would contain potential spoilers.

I suspect it will take at least a decade for us to get the full story of what happened behind the scenes of the Sequel Trilogy. I would love for J.W. Rinzler to do for these more recent films what he did for the Original Trilogy. In the meantime, Szostak's The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a unique look at the creativity of the artists at Lucasfilm - albeit an incomplete one.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gathered from the book that shooting and script writing was just as chaotic as I suspected, which is so sad. You have to hope that some of that is just twitter overreacting (yes, the movie was a mess, but at the same time, it is so unlike SW to be that hectic, I think.) Phil is such a fun writer, though. I really enjoy following him on twitter and highly recommend it. He has such great insights and insider info, and shares some really fun history as well! As for this book, I didn't really care for it as much as some of the others. Maybe because everything felt so disjointed. And that has more to do with the property itself than the writers. I don't know. I don't want to get into any gatekeeping here- I really hate that- but there are some people who love Star Wars because it's Star Wars and there are some people who love Star Wars because they think it's fun or because of its place in cinematic history. I think Star Wars makes the most sense when its stories are told by people who love it just for being Star Wars. They want to explore more untold stories; they bring up old themes without completely rehashing storylines; they understand the mythology and handle it so carefully, and take such care in writing it that, well it fits. Many times during my multiple viewings of TROS, I squinted at the screen, wondering what some people were thinking. It was fun and had some interesting stuff, but it was all over the place. And this book is art (cool looking art) and paragraphs that just sort of cement that for me. Which left me feeling frustrated and a little empty. Other Art of books make me feel more connected to the story, and this one just made me feel "huh, well that would have been cool, probably." Or "oh, wow, they made that decision uncomfortably last minute."

I feel pretty confident that no one at Lucasfilm reads these things, but if they did, you are loved and I hope the experiences of the last few years with the fandom haven't scared you away from this work that you so obviously love. I really do hope it gets better. I still love Star Wars and so many other people do, too, even if some stories here and there make me sad or confused. :)

[Sebastian Zavala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yup, another Star Wars book I have mixed feelings about.

THE GOOD: the artwork we get is breathtaking. As always, the folks at Lucasfilm are immensely talented artists, and they have done really amazing work during the whole pre-production and production phases of Episode IX. It's really fascinating to read about the whole process of making the movie; the different ideas they were discussing, and yes, even some of the scenes they ended up actually SHOOTING and then discarding. I really wanna see the scene between the Oracle and Kylo Ren in Mustafar, for example!

THE BAD: Unfortunately, 'The Art of The Rise of the Skywalker' also manages to show how rushed was this movie. The script kept changing all the time (even while shooting!), and some of the ideas they discussed actually sound more intriguing and visually compelling than the ones that appeared in the movie. Like Kylo going to an abandoned Coruscant and to a secret place in the Jedi Temple! Or the final duel taking place in an flooded Death Star hangar! Add to that the fact that the book contains NOTHING related to Exegol, Palpatine or the actual last act of the movie (save a couple of drawings), and the overall experience or reading it feels... incomplete.

CONCLUSION: I really don't understand why the release of this book was pushed back, if they weren't gonna include any spoilers for the movie anyway. What we *do* get is amazing, but there's so much missing content, that I can't help feeling we're gonna get double-dipped, eventually. A pity.

[Geena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any film that was going to come after The Last Jedi (the middle-point that ignored The Force Awakens and torched any and all narrative threads with it's tomfoolery) was good and screwed no matter what narrative trajectory it was going to take, and The Rise of Skywalker's otherwise troubled production illustrates this best, even when Phil Szostak's Wikipedia account of what happened throughout attempts to paint the inept LucasFilm Story Group as a production of people who had a plan all along (and they didn't).

As with the previous art-book, The Art of The Rise of Skywalker is full of beautiful illustrations from LucasFilm's and Industrial Light and Magic's production team, which are often accompanied with some damning quotes about particular characters (they really weren't interested in developing John Boyega's Finn in the least, and the idea that they weren't even going to evolve his character design at first rather speaks volumes).

Commentary about the development of the story is brief and often never particularly illuminating, but the idea that they even conceptually had far better ideas than what they chose to settle on within the absurd three months they were left to produce a film Disney wanted released for December 2019, rather puts a pin on just how awful rushing to make films without a plan really was in the long run.

What a waste of everyone's time.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of concept art (sketches and computer models) from The Rise of Skywalker, featuring buildings, vehicles, characters, creatures, droids, and planets. There are brief explanations and behind-the-scenes details on the artistic side of the movie-making process, but not as much as some other Art of Star Wars books, unfortunately. There are many great art pieces, but not much text.

I was surprised that there was no concept art of Palpatine.

An incredible amount of the art was unused because so many changes were made to the story. It's clear they made up much of the story as they went.

I was surprised by the number of practical (physical) aliens and settings; I assumed almost all would be CGI.

Notes

About wayfinder: "We're not saying it's a holocron, but it has the language of one. It's in the same family and it's holding information."

After Return of the Jedi, Leia worked hard to rebuild Republic, but was discredited when it was revealed that she was Vader's daughter.

In one version of the story, Kylo was going to go "to a desolate, ash-covered Coruscant, the once-bustling city now overrun by giant wolves" and go to the deepest levels of "the abandoned Jedi Temple."

[Scott MacBurnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can separate the art from the film, this book - like all of the other "Art" volumes dedicated to individual "Star Wars" films, abounds with impressive creativity. As is almost always the case, the blind alleys that the design peeks into are sometimes as compelling, or more compelling, than what makes it to the screen. The sequel trilogy has been, of course, somewhat divisive and the book mostly shies well clear of any particular insight or introspection upon what has worked, and what has not.

Rightfully so, in all probability - the book is a celebration of the visual artists who have poured themselves into the film, and not a postmortem on its (relative) success or failure. The array of artwork that has been chosen here is good, the imagery is sharp and the layout is easy to absorb. If you are squarely opposed to the film, you will likely come away in much the same frame of mind, but if you just want to soak in a bit of creative visual exploration of the cinematic world, this is an effective volume - even if it does withhold some of the (supposed?) spoilers with regard to the return of Palpatine, and the world of Exegol.

[Shyue Chou Chuang · Rating 2 out of 5]

The volume pre-dates the release of the movie and as a result some artwork is embargoed because it might reveal the plot. This really isn't how such volumes should be compiled and as such, this is just a poorly conceived piece of merchandise to be made ready with the release of the movie. It should have been a promotional souvenir book.

First things, the volume features concept art relating to the eventual movie, even before the script was written and finalised. The volume also features assets, from spaceships to characters to costumes and firearms that were featured in the movie. The assembled artists for this movie were some of the industry's best and were enormously skilful, their technical skills were unrivalled. However, the resultant visuals were dull and unimaginative, they were generic and forgettable, not very different from a hundred other science fiction movies. These artwork were generated at various locales in the two years it took to make the movie as compared with three years each for the preceding movies.

There is little here to recommend even for collectors as most would have seen the same kind of art elsewhere.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a fan of Star Wars, the 'Art of' books are really fun to read. You get to see how the concepts and look of the film are created and come to life, and you get some insider knowledge about ideas that were discarded or scenes that were deleted. The creativity and thoughtfulness that goes into everything from background characters to Star Destroyers is pretty amazing, and it's interesting to see how concepts are tweaked over time to become the final versions we know and love. My only complaint about this book is it's obvious they were trying to avoid revealing spoilers for the movie. There's nothing about Palpatine or the big fight scene. The same approach was taken for the 'Art of' book for The Last Jedi, and there's actually a chapter in this book with spoiler content that didn't make it into The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I wish they had taken a more comprehensive approach for this book, especially since it's the last movie in the trilogy and there likely won't be another book coming soon.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's just say that Rise of Skywalker is not my favorite Star Wars film and leave it at that.

The biggest pro here is that it is Star Wars concept art which definitely makes it worth a look no matter what.

The biggest con is there are several could-have-beens that are oh so much better than what we got. It often feels like a checklist of bad choices to me.

As is the case with all of the art books in the age of Disney Star Wars, there is very little real behind the scenes info (Why ignore all of the amazing concept art for Trevorrow's version of the film that has been leaking lately?) and that is disappointing in comparison to the openness of the old Lucasfilm (the prequel making and art of books are freaking fantastic regardless of how one might view the films...).

It is what it is, and my dislike of TROS aside, Star Wars art is always fun to look at.

[kerrycat · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The more you say 'a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . . ' the more I think, like Luke says, 'every word of what you just said is wrong.' Star Wars is close, close, close, right now." Rick Carter is the owner of this last quote in the text of this TROS concept art collection, and he is so damn right - this is also a case for reading the text instead of flipping through the pages to look at the photos, which would be a crying shame for any SW fan to do in light of all the anecdotes as well as production details. The real gems here are the connections all of these designs have to other SW films (which are pointed out), a creation practice that contributes heavily to the visual and emotional continuity that is distinctly SW.

[Einar Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved The Rise of Skywalker. Many Star Wars “fans” didn’t, but I loved it. After reading Phil Szostak’s The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, I’m struck by how different the movie we all watched is from the movie’s initial plan. Worlds are different, supporting characters are different. When executed correctly, these “Art of” books are fantastic behind-the-scenes resources into the visual storytelling of movies. Szostak adds comments from directors, writers, artists, and other filmmakers about the film’s development. The book is an amazing collection of art that inspired what was manifest in the eventual movie as sets, costumes, props, and storylines. It’s time to watch the film again to see what editors kept and what I may have missed previously.

[Stephen Hardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The joy of every new Star Wars film release is, other than the films themselves, these Art of... books. This one was delayed months after the release, was looking forward to some spoiler content, but major plot points like the Emperor are ignored. Rise of Skywalker had a problematic production, with the previous director let go. There has been leaked art work from the previous iteration of Episode 9, none of which makes the book. The production is glossed over as all sunshine and roses.

On a positive note, the artwork is still extraordinary and is a delight to see the creative process evolve.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork by all the artist who came up with site locations, costume and creature ideas, and drew out storyboards is phenomenal! The imagination is boundless!

It was great to receive a timeline of events for idea generation, to when what scenes were filmed, and then the editing process. And to realize that Solo: A Star Wars Story had yet been finalized before work on The Rise of Skywalker was being thought and brought into existence. As well as, learning when John Favreau and Dave Filoni pitched their idea for The Mandalorian show.

There were many who put a lot of effort into bringing the ninth movie to fruition!

[Kaven · Rating 1 out of 5]

for a book that was delayed four months to avoid spoilers for a movie that came four months ago, it’s strange that they didn’t include the spoilers? anyone reading this book has seen the movie at this point. i understand not including the spoilers for TFA or TLJ versions, especially because they’d be included in their sequels’ “Art of” books. but we don’t get any of that here. we don’t get to see the design of Ben Solo or Exegol or the return of the Emperor. more disappointed in this than i was in the underwhelming film.

[Steve Davala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic concept art book. So many images used and some tossed.
I've really enjoyed reading these books from the previous 2 movies. I even had the Empire Strikes Back one from when I was a kid.
It always makes me feel like I could have taken a different path and helped create this Star Wars universe. Oh well.

There is a lot left out regarding the Emperor in here. Not sure why. I know in the previous books they held back on a few things because of spoilers, but since this book was released 5 months after the movie release, I figure they wouldn't have to worry about it.

[Alexander Pyles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book.

While it feels like there is certainly a direction that concept art went with a supposed "oracle" going on and what TROS ended up going, it was still pleasing to see all the work that went into these pages.

I think this next to TFA artbook might be my favorite, just for the sheer vision that's in the art, although this one does have some of the most compelling scenes from TLJ, because they couldn't spoil the movie through the last artbook's publication.

Either way, I really enjoyed the art here.

[Kevin Eggleston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Impressive artistry, but the complete erasure of Colin Trevorrow's contribution to the devleopment process is petty, insecure, and false. There is one excellent page in which Leia's mythic role in the saga is recognized and discussed (it seems it had to *Dawn* on them instead of being obvious), but otherwise - where is the missing art?

A truly secure director/production company would tell the whole story and recognize the complicated history involved.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Art of Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker is a fitting conclusion to the new trilogy of books relating to the new trilogy of films. There is some gorgeous artwork here, making it a wonderful book to skim through. The text is okay, though I might have liked a little more from it at times, and, once again, the book feels a touch unbalanced with the material it includes versus what it omits. However, it is, overall, a pleasing completion to the set and is sure to please fans of the movies.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always the art is the star, in this series. However there were so many variants of creatures, it felt as though it could have been for any film, not specific to Star Wars. The main reason I dropped a star rating, was that I found the text quite boring. It was so interesting in previous versions to learn of everyone's excitement and generation of ideas to help from the new trilogy. I suppose it's just the norm again now.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful concept art from the movie.

While this book was just as nice and insightful as the previous "Art of..." books, one disappointing part of this book is that despite its release being delayed until several months after the movie, there is no concept art for the Sith temple or for the return of Palpatine.