Dopey but intimidating and powerfully violent when needed, the pig-like Gamorrean Guards, loyal servants and bodyguards to Jabba the Hutt within his palace on Tatooine corner Threepio and Artoo upon the droids entrance into the palace. The creatures were soon a hugely popular monster creation in
Return of the Jedi, especially mined for comedy value in the sequence linked to the Rancor pit.
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| Three of the bulky costumes created for the film in a reference image. |
Having been developed by the ILM Creature Shop during 1981, when the lumbering Gamorreans made their first proper
appearances on set, director Richard Marquand had
specific ideas about the monsters and how
they behaved, recalling to
Bantha Tracks newsletter in 1983:
"I felt that the Pig
Guards were totally unintelligent, neo-fascist types. Their dumb attitude to carrying
out orders is one level of behaviour. At the
same time, we wanted to convey that just as
the school bully, you can out-maneuver him
if you're smart and he'll turn into a coward.
This is what happens in the movie. Also, I
thought an interesting characteristic for them
to have would be relishing the discomfort of
one of their own. To enjoy seeing another
Pig Guard being given a hard time. We
actually managed to
get that into the
film."
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| Concept art by Ralph McQuarrie. |
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| Another McQuarrie concept. |
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| Art by Nilo Rodis-Jamero. |
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| The creature maquette takes shape. |
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| Scott Farrar watches an ILM test a raw foam mask and costume prototype at the specially activated ILM creature shop in 1981 for Jedi. |
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| A close-up of the bulky feet worn as shoes. |
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| Polaroids of a work in progress head. |
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| A trio of unpainted masks without animatronic mechanisms. |
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| At work on the animatronics, presumably in the UK at Elstree Studios. |
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| Close-up shot of the animatronic head in action within Jabba's Palace. |
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| Behind the scenes studio continuity polaroid of an actor inside the suit, but without the applied large contact lenses. |
