Star Wars Concept Artist Ralph McQuarrie Has Passed Away


Ralph McQuarrie, the man credited with bringing director George Lucas’ vision for “Star Wars” to the big screen, has died at the age of 82. McQuarrie’s designs were responsible for the final look of iconic characters such as Darth Vader, Chewbacca and many more. The following statement was posted on his official website yesterday, read it below:

“There’s no doubt in our hearts that centuries from now amazing spaceships will soar, future cities will rise and someone, somewhere will say… that looks like something Ralph McQuarrie painted.”

Commenting on his passing, Star Wars visionary George Lucas had this to say,

“Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision Star Wars,” Lucas said. “His genial contribution, in the form of unequaled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy.

“When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph’s fabulous illustrations and say, ‘Do it like this.”

McQuarrie’s work on the 1985 film Cocoon earned him the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. McQuarrie will be greatly missed amongst the artistic community, and amongst film fans. RIP Ralph McQuarrie.