Check Out Rare Art from the 'Forbidden Planet' Remake That Never Came to Be

With the sheer number of remakes and reboots Hollywood churns out on an annual basis, it’s hard to imagine there’s ever a proposed reimagining that doesn’t get the green light. It happens, though – and as proof, we submit Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner’s 1995 attempt to launch a remake of the classic sci-fi film Forbidden Planet.

For whatever reason (apparently the script was terrible), Kershner couldn’t get the project off the ground, but that didn’t stop him from commissioning some elaborate concept art for the film from the likes of Ralph McQuarrie, Syd Mead and others.

Some of that concept art is now available thanks to Ain’t It Cool News, which released it as part of an effort to help fund a book featuring McQuarrie’s non-Star Wars film art. You can see the fruits of his labor below.

Here are some of Mead’s sketches as well, courtesy of Film Sketchr.

The artwork is certainly intriguing (we particularly like the mood evoked by McQuarrie’s work), but we’re still happy this project never came to fruition. Forbidden Planet is great just the way it is – and it’s doubtful that any remake of it would recapture the magic of Fred Wilcox’s original film.

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