'JEDI' AT 40: CREATING A CRIME LORD!

Ralph McQuarrie head design for Jabba that was eventually used/adapted for a comedy alien villain in the early seasons of Star Wars Rebels.

He'd been ominously referred to in the previous two films as a crime lord that couldn't be messed with, and would soon be the keystone for Han Solo's capture and carbon freezing at Bespin by the deadly bounty hunter Boba Fett via commission from Darth Vader during The Empire Strikes Back, so when it came to designing the infamous Jabba the Hutt, described by George Lucas as a monstrous version of the intimidating film noir actor Sydney Greenstreet, the challenge was on for the ILM conceptual artists to work out a design that would win Lucas's approval for his vital first appearance in the saga with Return of the Jedi.

Here's a few of the memorable designs...

From 1980.

Ralph McQuarrie concepts 1981.

A more human-looking grotesque.

A travelling Jabba idea, moved from underneath by his slave retinue.

The drawing rendered to maquette form.

Another potential Jabba maquette, if rather more humanoid in appearance.

A selection of Jabba concept maquettes created by Phil Tippett.

The final maquette chosen by Lucas for Jabba.