CLASSIC McQUARRIE: LUKE VS RANCOR!

Luke Skywalker has effectively fallen into Jabba the Hutt's creepy hands and now finds himself in the sights of the loathsome crime lord's special 'pet', the Rancor, in this great concept art painting by Ralph McQuarrie for Return of the Jedi, which effectively shows the size of the underground vault housing the ferocious and always hungry beast! 

EPISODE III: WAR IN THE HEAVENS!

An army of Republic Cruisers begin their attack on enemy forces, launching waves of fighters and accompanied by a Jedi Starfighter, in this terrific fan artwork linked to the Prequel saga, capturing the epic flavour of intergalactic war that the saga does so well.

If anyone knows the name of the excellent artist here, please get in touch.

CLASSIC ART: CLASHING 'SABERS!

The lightsabers used by the Jedi Knights of the Old Republic may have passed into history by the time of the original Star Wars' story showcasing Rebellion vs Empire, but the emergence of Jedi-to-be Luke Skywalker, and his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi's duel with his former pupil Darth Vader, soon make the weapons iconic and a perfect representation of good vs evil for this unused American poster concept art from 1976/77. 

If anyone knows the artist (I assume it's Tom Jung), please get on touch...  

CLASSIC IMAGE: THE REBELS' BOLDEST MISSION!

A surprise for Leia from Han...

From far and wide across the galaxy, the many Rebel cells have come together as their leader Mon Mothma unveils the biggest mission undertaking yet by the Alliance, to take out the being-built Death Star II and destroy it's overseer, the dreaded Emperor himself! 

But who will lead the all-important and highly dangerous ground assault to prior knock out the energy shield protecting the battle station? General Leia Organa is about to get an interesting surprise from her beloved Han Solo!

Some nice rare B/W images of this classic scene from Return of the Jedi.

'THE CLONE WARS': DAY OF THE CLONES!

The ultimate force for intergalactic conflict has been assembled on Coruscant, handily created by mystery forces years in advance of the ensuing Separatist crisis now brewing, and right under the very noses of both the Republic and the once all-knowing Jedi Knights. The Clone Wars have indeed begun...

An atmospheric and important moment from The Clone Wars animated series, so well recreated from the end of Episode II.  

EPISODE IX: REUNITED JEDI!

It's a time of darkness and emotional trauma for Rey, having now discovered the truth about her shocking bloodline from Kylo Ren. She looks ready to give it all up on the far off world of Ahch-To. Fortunately, a friend and teacher from the past returns to guide her back on the right path against the oncoming firestorm that is the Dark Side, and the return of Palpatine.

A memorable scene from The Rise of Skywalker.

CLASSIC IMAGE: FAST ESCAPE!

The time is now for Han Solo and Chewbacca, inside one of the main forward hangars, to join Luke and Leia in boarding the grounded Falcon and finally escape the Death Star. But at what cost have the nearby Stormtroopers been distracted from guarding the pirate ship?

A classic moment superbly captured by the original Star Wars lensman John Jay, as seen in The Making of Star Wars TV documentary of 1977.

On set photographer John Jay captures the classic image during filming at Elstree circa June 1976.

EPISODE I: BATTLE ON THE PLAINS!

The battle between the heroic Gungans and the evil Trade Federation Battles Droid legions reaches a fiery escalation on the plains of Naboo, in another great conceptual art piece by Doug Chiang for EPISODE I.

CLASSIC ART: 'RETURN' OF THE HEROES!

It's amazing how much concept commissioned movie poster work for a Star Wars film is commissioned and rejected, and all by such great talents. This is a fun all-action reworking of the original Hildebrandt Star Wars poster of 1975 for Return of the Jedi, with the iconic Tom Jung adding Han Solo to the original but more seasoned Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia pairing amidst a Death Star backdrop. And all three atop the gross Jabba the Hutt, no less!

'THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL': THE BEST OF 'LIFE DAY' FRIENDS!

Humans and Wookiees have always seemed to get on well with each other, as exemplified by Chewbacca's special and enduring relationship with Han Solo, but such general closeness runs deep in the Wookiee icon's family generally, as notably seen with young Lumpy (Patty Maloney) seeking sage advice from the Kashyyyk-based human trader Saun Dann (played by respected actor Art Carney) in a memorable posed publicity image from the still-infamous The Star Wars Holiday Special, celebrating its 47th Birthday today.

EPISODE II: IN FOR THE KILL!

Bounty Hunters come in all shapes and sizes from across the galaxy, but Zam Wesell must be one of the most intriguing, as seen in EPISODE II, on a mission to assassinate Senator Padme Amidala on Coruscant, under orders from a mysterious Mandalorian armoured paymaster, and using its special skill-sets to the fullest.

DELETED SCENE: A GATHERING OF VILLAINY!

The time of the Emperor's arrival on the new Death Star has come.

Darth Vader's prior work at motivating the building teams of the Death Star II has yielded effective results. Now the Dark Lord gathers with his top Imperial officers for the newly arrived, fearsome Emperor, who is eager to see the space station and test its supreme firepower. 

A well-known deleted scene from Return of the Jedi cut for time and pacing reasons, and sadly one of only a very few sequences filmed showcasing Dave Prowse as Vader...

Imperial officers await Vader by the elevator entrance to the hangar bay as the Emperor makes his arrival.

Vader and Moff Jerjerrod (Michael Pennington) lead the assembled senior officers to the hangar bay.

A Stormtrooper (Gerry Sherard) keeps watch in the corridor.

CLASSIC IMAGE: TECHNOLOGICAL TERROR!

Under secret construction at an unknown location, its parts assembled by slave labour across the galaxy via numerous dummy corporations and sub-sub contractors, the mighty Death Star battle station may be a long time before reaching planet-killing completion, but progress nonetheless remains as swift as can be, especially with the Empire's legion of tireless droid bots hard at work across its surface...

A memorable finale scene to the slow-paced but intriguing first season of Andor. 

'THE FORCE AWAKENS' AT 10: DESTINATION: JEDI!

The mythical Luke Skywalker revealed.

Having resided in isolation and contemplation on the mysterious Ach-To, home to the first unique Jedi Temple, after a terrible experience with his former disciple Kylo Ren that has now left the galaxy in pieces and open to attack and invasion with the arrival of the dreaded First Order, Luke Skywalker has finally been found by the Resistance, of which Jedi-to-be Rey has boldly gone to the mostly water world to recruit his help back in the fight against good and evil..

But will he accept both the return of his father's lightsaber, previously thought lost forever, and newcomer Rey's request for help?  

It's both a story, and a momentous decision, that will be continued in another film...

Great posed shots of Mark Hamill taken at Skellig Island.

Will Luke accept the return of his lightsaber and call to help from Rey and the Resistance?

J.J. Abrams and company film Luke's finale reveal.

Filming the earlier flashback of Luke's sorrow at the destruction of his new Jedi Order.

'THE FORCE AWAKENS' AT 10: THE DUEL!

The Force is fully awakened in Rey as she duels Kylo Ren.

Their friend Han Solo has been murdered before their shocked eyes, and now his slayer, Kylo Ren, has come looking for Rey and Finn in revenge for their heroism against both him and the First Order, whilst Starkiller Base begins its dramatic death throes all around them thanks to Resistance attacks. Amidst the eerie snowfall surroundings, Finn regrettably falls to Ren's superior lightsaber swordplay, but Rey is soon on hand to display her further astonishing skills in the Force and boldly challenges the fallen angel, of which she'll ultimately find the strength and courage to memorably defeat him...

A first for the saga, an atmospheric lightsaber duel in the snow, and a standout scene of drama, action and crowd-pleasing emotion from The Force Awakens.

Finn begins his bold if undisciplined attack on Ren.

Rey continues the fight and shows how the Force has equally awakened within her.

'THE FORCE AWAKENS' AT 10: BETRAYING A BIRTHRIGHT!

A birthright to evil, as personified by Kylo Ren, General Hux and Captain Plasma, striking new villains for the sequel universe's first adventure.

Manipulated during a time of emotional weakness and instability during his early Jedi training by Supreme Leader Snoke, ruler of the eventual scourge that is the First Order, young and impressionable Ben Solo, saddled with prior feelings of abandonment by his parents Leia Organa and Han Solo, has now become the bitter and twisted, all-power in the Force craving figure of the masked murderer Kylo Ren, determined to wipe out the Jedi, and his former master Luke Skywalker, at all costs, as played with ferocity, anger and twisted villainy within The Force Awakens by the well-cast Adam Driver, an acclaimed actor who has now pretty much worked with all the great Hollywood and international directors out there, and accumulating a fine and diverse body of work beyond his great contribution to the sequel Star Wars franchise, playing a character indelibly linked to the slaying of his onscreen father, Han Solo.. 

Promotional merchandise art poster by Joe Corroney showcasing Kylo Ren and the First Order for Episode VII.

Ren is determined to follow in the dark and powerful footsteps of his late grandfather, Darth Vader, within the Force. Art by Brian Rood,

With the discovery of the Force-latent powers of the mysterious Rey, Ren is determined to use her in finding Luke Skywalker. But her power in the Force is growing...

Behind the scenes on the memorable moment.

'THE FORCE AWAKENS' AT 10: DROID TALK!

The oh-so endearing BB-8 may be the new droid on the franchise block, but let's not forget the original robotic duo who started it all, the mis-matched but delightful friends on screen that are C-3PO (Anthony Daniels, long past icon status and needing a new word to represent his long-time contributions to Star Wars) and R2-D2, reunited at the Resistance base as the clues to the location of the missing Luke Skywalker are soon put together...

The new Threepio costume, with the none-too subtle red arm that annoyed Daniels during filming.

Old and new legends meet.

The droids whom we'll never forget.

'THE FORCE AWAKENS' AT 45: THE FISHER FACTOR!

A lovely shot of Carrie Fisher as Leia, being tended to by make-up artists for an ultimately deleted scene.

She was one of the key figures in bringing down the Galactic Empire that brought so much death, misery, death and tyranny in its wake, but thirty years of relative peace and stability with the New Republic, of which she was one of its prime leaders, was sadly not to last. With the emergent First Order making its ploy to take over from the Empire, General Leia Organa has no choice but to lead an all-new Resistance against such a powerful and potentially overwhelming threat that has been ignored too long by her soon dead political colleagues. And this battle is even more personal now, what with the disappearance of her brother, and fellow Jedi, Luke Skywalker, alongside the loss of her only son, Kylo Ren, to the Dark Side and to the First Order's leader, Snoke. And then comes the soon and tragic murder by Ren of her ex-husband, his father, Han Solo...

"Together again!" Ford and Fisher reunited in a publicity image.

Carrie Fisher's return to the Star Wars Saga with The Force Awakens was most welcome, of which she delivered a fine performance in her memorable scenes alongside Harrison Ford...

Leading the Resistance.

Monitoring oncoming dangers with Admiral Statura (Ken Leung) at the Resistance Base.

Finding new hope with the newly arrived Rey.

Leia sends Rey off to find her brother, whilst preparing the Resistance for new conflicts.

'THE FORCE AWAKENS' AT 10: "CHEWIE, WE'RE HOME!"

A great posed publicity image of Ford as Solo (with Joonas Suotamo as Chewie) on the Falcon set during his first memorable day of filming, prior to unfortunate injuries sustained, at Pinewood Studios.

Unhappy with his character of Han Solo's ultimate contribution to the conclusion of the middle Star Wars saga with Return of the Jedi, I, and I'm sure millions of other fans worldwide back in 1983, were surely convinced that Harrison Ford's involvement with the franchise would be over for good, and that he no longer needed the character of the iconic smuggler to further his already successful career. So what an incredible and joyous surprise it was in 2014 that Ford would return one last time to play Han Solo for The Force Awakens, helping to launch a new trio of saga heroes, and brought back in part due to his prior association with the new film's director J. J. Abrams (the energetic talent who had written his popular 90's drama Regarding Henry) and the intriguing but no less upsetting idea of killing Solo off (which Lucas refused to do back in 1982), slain by his own son, and ultimately bringing-in character closure for the actor. And, of course there was the huge paycheck that would keep Ford in enthused aeroplane flying and fuelling for a good few years to come...

Conferring on an ultimately deleted scene with J.J. Abrams.

Who can ever forget seeing the second trailer for The Force Awakens and hearing the resounding, booming fan cheers when the first footage of Solo and Chewbacca together was shown for the first time... "Chewie.... we're home!" 

Han is soon impressed with the skills of the young Rey.

Han and Chewie on Takodana.

Finn helps his new friends load bombs as they ready to journey to Starkiller Base.

With new friends Rey and Finn on a mission at the dreaded Starkiller Base.