ILM CLASSIC IMAGE: FULL SPEED AHEAD!

Racing fast across the surface of the second Death Star to its reactor core, the surviving Rebel fighters are too much for the Imperial ground cannons to catch their fire on, in this great ILM storyboard from Return of the Jedi of 1982/83 that we wish had made it to the screen.

'STAR WARS' AT 40: CANNON CASCADE!

Joe Johnston storyboard.

As the Rebel Gold Squadron Y-wings begin their bombing run, twenty heavy duty Imperial turbolaser cannons bombard the claustrophobic Death Star trench in green energy fire, only stopping with the soon arrival of Darth Vader's unique TIE fighter and escorts

A wide image of a model cannon firing was one of the first successfully completed effects shots for STAR WARS by ILM in 1976.

One of the cannon models in the trench.

Surface cannon art by Joe Johnston.

'STAR WARS' AT 40: IMPERIAL FIREPOWER!

As alarms sound and Stormtroopers and officers race to their positions, the Death Star's fully manned rotating laser turret areas are blasting away at the descending X-wing fighters now beginning strafing runs across the surface of their space station, in a classic moment from the original STAR WARS.

Rehearsal shot of the stationed gunners.

Filmed at the near end of Summer 1976 production at Elstree, the large set would make use of existing wall sections created previously for other Death Star interiors, including the tractor beam power terminal. At least three gun turret props were created for the sequence, though the third background one may have been a cardboard blow-up (to save on the construction budget).

One of the turrets explodes in a moment barely in the finished movie.

A massive detonation, only seen in photo form with this original 1977 TOPPS card.

Several images of Stormtroopers and gunners at work or readying their equipment on the set were taken during filming by the stills set photographers, as well as pyrotechnic work where stuntmen (presumably Colin Skeaping, Peter Diamond or Reg Harding) would land on nearby mattresses hidden out of camera sight (but seen in the above B/W still). Script Supervisor Ann Skinner also took two so far unpublished B/W Polaroids of the costumed extras in and around the various sets and equipment.

Stormtroopers at the ready. Note what looks like a cut-out cannon at the far end.

With thanks to Ann Skinner and the BFI.

ILM CLASSIC IMAGE: NOTHNG WILL STOP THEM NOW...

Rebel X, Y, A and B-wing fighters fly past the heavy flack and turbolaser ground defences of the second Death Star, heading towards its reactor core in this great angle storyboard shot for RETURN OF THE JEDI that sadly never made the final movie.

ILM CLASSIC IMAGE: SPACE STORMTROOPER

At ILM, Joe Johnston suits up in one of the then surviving UK built Stormtrooper costumes (with extra air piping) for an additional insert scene for STAR WARS filmed in 1977, showing one of the soldiers out on the Death Star surface watching as the captured Millennium Falcon is tractor beamed into one of its Docking Bays. The scene would be supervised and directed by George Lucas and quickly added onto the model work.

One of the key creative people at ILM to have worked on the Original Trilogies design front since 1975, Johnston was a storyboard artist, model maker, matte painting assistant, actor (check out his cameo in the Hoth Base Rebel Crusier Bay in EMPIRE) and puppeteer. Since departing ILM (of which he had worked on other non STAR WARS projects including Indiana Jones), he would become an acclaimed director of such interesting, wide ranging genre fare as THE ROCKETEER, JUMANJI and JURASSIC PARK 3, as well as family friendly films like the enjoyable horse race adventure HIDALGO (with LORD OF THE RINGS Viggo Mortensen), and horror films like the under-appreciated HAMMER HORROR-esque THE WOLFMAN (starring Benecio del Toro, Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins), of which Johnston took over the directing reins at the last minute from someone else who had departed the difficult project. Now, expectations are high for his next major production, currently filming in Manchester, England: the big budget film adaptation of MARVEL COMICS ground breaking superhero CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, with Chris Evans in the title role, and a strong supporting cast that includes Hugo Weaving (as the villainous Red Skull), Hayley Atwell, Richard Armitage and Tommy Lee Jones. The insider buzz on CAPTAIN AMERICA, to be released next Summer, is very positive, and lets hope that it propels Johnston ever further as a top name director of high quality and exciting movies, having gained so much top experience from his time working at LUCASFILM...

Check out the MTV website feature on CAPTAIN AMERICA here: http://splashpage.mtv.com/tag/captain-america/

Image: STARWARS.COM