ALL IMAGES © 2014, LUCASFILM/HARRY N. ABRAMS, INC., NEW YORK

One draft of the script featured a “pirate ship,” which was later replaced by the Millennium Falcon we know and love. In this Joe Johnston sketch, that pirate ship blasts its way out of the Mos Eisley spaceport.

ALL IMAGES © 2014, LUCASFILM/HARRY N. ABRAMS, INC., NEW YORK

ALL IMAGES © 2014, LUCASFILM/HARRY N. ABRAMS, INC., NEW YORK

ALL IMAGES © 2014, LUCASFILM/HARRY N. ABRAMS, INC., NEW YORK

At one point, Lucas made Luke Skywalker a girl. This storyboard is from never-filmed “Scene 82,” where she, Han Solo (in Stormtrooper garb), and a reptilian Chewbacca have rescued Luke’s brother Deak Starkiller from an Imperial prison.

Storyboards by artist Alex Tavoularis (and early versions of Lucas’ script) featured a very different look for Luke’s companions. C-3PO was fully art deco, while R2-D2 rocked a funky steampunk antenna.

The original opening Imperial attack in Episode IV was a brutal, bloody affair. You thought Darth Vader was bad when he Force-choked underlings? Here he tears the arm off a captive rebel.