They see me rollin’, they hatin’... Image : Jake Lunt Davies ( Lucasfilm/Abrams Books )

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker already had so much going on, but our exclusive look at some of the concept art behind making it reveals the film could’ve had even more, including something truly delightful. Three words, my friends: BB-8. Battle. Tank.




This wonderful reveal is part of io9's exclusive look inside Phil Szostak’s The Art of The Rise of Skywalker, the latest Star Wars art book from the team at Abrams. Gathering insight from the artists and crew who brought the final chapter of the Skywalker Saga to life last year, the book is also of course, packed with never-before-seen art that depicts early ideas for the worlds, people, and events we saw explode onto screens. But as well as giving us early looks at what we did get in the final movie, it’s also got lots of fascinating insight into what could’ve been too.


io9 is extremely excited to debut some of those unseen concept pieces in our exclusive gallery from The Art of The Rise Skywalker.

Image : Lucasfilm/Abrams Books

While the Resistance BB Tank that essentially takes BB-8's design, sizes him up by a magnitude of factors, and then replaces his head with a gun battery is incredibly fun, we’ve also got a wonderful look at an alien Resistance Pilot that sadly didn’t make it to screens. Take a look at this tribute to David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, simply known in the concept art only as “Star Man Pilot.”



Image : Calum Alexander Watt ( Lucasfilm/Abrams Books )


I think he would’ve liked to meet us, because he definitely would’ve blown our minds in the skies above Exegol. Check out a few more pieces from the book below, making their debut here on io9!



Control Room Version 08. Image : Andrée Wallin ( Lucasfilm/Abrams Books )


Corridor Version 11. Image : Andrée Wallin ( Lucasfilm/Abrams Books )

First Order Landing Version 08. Image : Jon McCoy ( Lucasfilm/Abrams Books )


“I was just having some fun with this tank. I’m not sure I would have actually wanted to see it realized in the final film.”—Jake Lunt Davies Image : Jake Lunt Davies ( Lucasfilm/Abrams Books )

The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is on shelves as of today, to coincide with the official home release of the movie.




The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker by Phil Szostak, and Lucasfilm Ltd. © Abrams Books, 2020 (C) 2020 Lucasfilm Ltd. And TM. All Rights Reserved. Used Under Authorization.


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