"EVERY SAGA HAS A BEGINNING..."

Monday, 7 June 2021

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: A CITY IN THE CLOUDS!

Han Solo enjoys the Cloud City scenery, as detailed in an early script draft.

The stunning beauty of Cloud City, and its outdoor air traffic, is once more effectively showcased in this great art by Ralph McQuarrie. Though his concept final for the Bespin apartment occupied by Princess Leia and Han Solo wasn't used in the original 1979 movie (for reasons unknown), UK Production Designer Norman Reynold's circular set design interior would nonetheless adhere to its interior (including its roof ceiling). By the time of the1999 Special Editions onwards, George Lucas would have the McQuarrie exterior reinstated within his plans to open up the Bespin/Cloud City location more with the new CGI technology available to ILM.

The original matte painting for the Bespin apartment exterior.
 
Revised for the Special Edition onwards,

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