25 Incredible Star Wars Concept Art Designs You Need To See

Star Wars may have been the brainchild of the visionary film maker George Lucas, but throughout the franchise hundreds of visual artists have worked on the movies, all hoping to put their visual stamp on the most famous sci-fi series in the galaxy.

Almost all the series' characters were worked and reworked to perfection, and the now iconic ships, locations and lightsabers audiences take for granted underwent similarly harsh labours of love before being finalised into what would become their famous designs.

In Star Wars, however, hardly anything is left on the cutting-room floor. If some of these unused designs are familiar, it is because many of them were reused in later movies or television shows, as new generations of Star Wars artists looked toward the old masters for inspiration, all in pursuit of crafting a cohesive universe.

From small visual changes that would have had no effect on the story to huge ideas that could have changed the course of the franchise, here are twenty five incredible Star Wars concept art designs that almost made it into a galaxy far, far, away.

Showcasing a very different type of Stormtrooper in the background, the more familiar trooper that dominates this art piece is wielding what appears to be a blue lightsaber.

The weapon is perhaps the most iconic symbol of the franchise, but it's probably best that it was reserved for the Jedi and the Sith: the lightsaber probably wouldn't have made as much of a cultural impact if it was just the galaxy's equivalent of a common sword.