Star Wars Releases Unused Palpatine Concept Art From The Rise Of Skywalker

The Rise of Skywalker was one of the most anticipated movies of 2019. One of the integral locations for scenes within the movie was Exegol, the hidden Sith world. An enigmatic planet covered in barren, shadowy wasteland and ancient Sith structures, Exegol was to be the final battlefield between Darth Sidious and Rey. Now, ILM, the studio behind much of the concept artwork and visual development of Star Wars, has released unused images which greatly portray Exegol's dark and terrible secrets.

Here is shown a giant, megalithic structure which is a Sith temple, where Palpatine would rule over his Sith acolytes. As the Sith are the opposing faction to the Jedi, the temple mimics the Jedi's temple on Coruscant but is clearly different, having a more dominating, intimidating presence.

The Egyptians, Sumerians and Nabataeans were used for inspiration by ILM's art department. As a result it does look suitable aged and weathered, having that ancient civilizations feel. The carvings, glyphs and tributes reflect the culture of the Sith.

Giant statues stand in the space beneath the temple. One of the inspirations for these was the terracotta army of ancient China and the statues certainly do appear opposing and oppressive in their dark majesty.

In addition to giant stones and foreboding architecture, another feature of Exegol had to be the alchemy lab where Palpatine has had to make his slow recovery.

Then there is the amphitheater, dominated by Ralph McQuarrie's Sith Throne. Naturally, this had to exude a sense of power and domination, and with the cold light really does give a feeling of hostility.

As this was the demise of Sidious, the final battle had to be visually striking and powerful, especially because it represented a massive confrontation between all the Sith and all the Jedi and was the last battle in the Skywalker Saga.

Additional artwork was released as well for The Rise of Skywalker, not necessarily that of Palpatine but of different elements of the final confrontation on Exegol. A massive flotilla of ships had to be designed, consisting of ships from previous movies, games, comics and even amusement parks, and also including ships of completely new design. One of the more interesting elements of Star Wars ships as shown in the artwork, is modularity. Variations of the same model of starship creates endless variety, and combined with the different shapes and colours makes for a great mix from different cultures.

For the final battle, historical conflicts like Pearl Harbor and Midway and WWII military strategies were used for inspiration. As the last battle in the Skywalker Saga it was necessary to amp it up so that it would something powerful and memorable and the artwork here reflects this. With sunset skies present at first, it was realized that this wasn't intimidating and dark enough for the situation so the artists quickly switched that out for heavens of perpetual ash.

The final image is of a beautiful sunset over Exegol, and visually reflects the victory over the Final Order. The image also clearly shows iconic Star Wars ships such as the Millennium Falcon and an X-Wing fighter. This is not only a great image in it's own right, but fitting for the final triumph of good versus evil in one of the most popular franchises in all of pop culture. The team at ILM have done an amazing job creating this artwork, bring the world of Star Wars to life. Not only is their artwork amazing by itself, but is also a nod of respect to Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, Colin Cantwell and many others that have helped contribute in developing this wonderful universe. Exegol was a massive challenge but ILM defeated it easily. And now that the Skywalker Saga is over, what's next for Star Wars? If you do enjoy Star Wars concept art, be sure to check out The Mandalorian, which has vibrant concept art displayed on every outro.

Written By Andy Bain

Syndicated From Culture Slate