Star Wars: The Force Awakenscontains a coolStar WarsEaster egg fromThe Empire Strikes Back, and I can’t believe I didn’t know about it before.Star Wars: The Force Awakensessentially relaunchedStar Warsas a franchise. While thesimilarities betweenThe Force Awakensand the originalStar Warsmovie, later retitledA New Hope, are striking – Starkiller base is just a bigger Death Star, after all – it was also clearly inspired by otherStar Warsmovies, including, as it turns out,The Empire Strikes Back.
Darth Vader is one of the foundational pillars ofStar Wars. Without his menacing presence, George Lucas’ movies may not have become so widely beloved. Much of the success of Darth Vader’s character design is down toStar Warsconcept artist Ralph McQuarrie. The character’s mythology has only been expanded since we first saw him mow down a hallway full of Rebels inA New Hope, andone bit of Darth Vader lore is intricately connected withThe Force Awakens’Maz Kanata and McQuarrie’s work.
Maz Kanata’s Castle Was Based On Concept Art For Vader’s Castle
Once Han Solo and Chewbacca take the Millennium Falcon back from Rey and Finn inThe Force Awakens, they head to Takodana, the sight of Maz Kanata’s castle (also known as Takodana Castle).The castle has a striking design, with soaring, pointed towers and an imposing stone façade. Maz’s business wasn’t always located in a castle, though. InStar Wars: The Blueprintsby J.W. Rinzler and Pablo Hidalgo, Director J.J. Abrams revealed he wanted to include a setting that felt likethe famous Mos Eisley Cantinabut wasn’t too similar.
“Maz’s castle would be the confluence of many different alien cultures and was depicted in early draft iterations like a Western saloon. This, however, made it too much of a callback to the infamous Mos Eisley Cantina of A New Hope. ‘This was clearly our cantina,’ says Abrams. ‘It was a nod to the cantina. It felt like fair game because if you look at Star Wars, the notion [is that there are] countless watering holes that exist in various corners of the galaxy. On the one hand, I think cynically you could say, ‘Oh, they’re just trying to do the cantina again.’ But on the other hand, it’s Star Wars, and if you don’t have a version of one, I would leave feeling like, ‘Well, how could they not do the cantina?’ So, the challenge was, how can we do the cantina – but not do the cantina?
A new creative prompt for the setting was unlocked when unused concept art from The Empire Strikes Back was discovered: a Ralph McQuarrie illustration of what was to have been Darth Vader’s castle. ‘Does Maz live in a bar, a ship, a town, a city or – wait a minute, maybe it can be a Star Wars castle!’ recounts production designer Rick Carter of the artwork. ‘We started to riff off it as a place where she could exist. Then we started to make up the story of why she was there…’”
The castle design was the best choice. It subtly hinted at Maz Kanata’s age, reach, and power without giving too much of her mystique away. It’s a gorgeous design and once again proves Ralph McQuarrie’s boundless influence onStar Wars’overall aesthetic.
Star Wars Gave Vader His Own Castle Next Year (Based On Another McQuarrie Design)
Of course, the original trilogy never introducedDarth Vader’s castleintoStar Warscanon, but he has one now. Just a year afterThe Force Awakenswas released, 2016’sRogue One: A Star Wars Storyrevealed Fortress Vader on Mustafar. This, too, was based on some of McQuarrie’s old concepts, as Lucasfilm’s executive design director, Doug Chiang, explained in aninterview with StarWars.com.
Even decades after The Empire Strikes Back was released, McQuarrie’s designs are still influencingStar Wars in the modern era.
“Ralph McQuarrie actually drew quite a few small thumbnail sketches [of Vader’s castle] that were very intriguing,”Chiang remembered.“They were kind of angular versions of a tower, and I saw the potential of where he was going, and I just exaggerated that quite a bit.”The result was the instantly recognizable“tuning fork”design, with twin towers on either side of the structure, which hides a Sith cave lurking underneath. Even decades afterThe Empire Strikes Backwas released, McQuarrie’s designs are still influencingStar Warsin the modern era.
The Mandalorian and Grogu
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Cast
Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place 30 years after the fall of the Galactic Empire. It follows Han Solo and new allies, including Finn and Rey, as they confront the rising threat of Kylo Ren and his army of Stormtroopers while seeking the elusive Luke Skywalker.
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back is the second installment in the original Star Wars trilogy, directed by Irvin Kershner. Released in 1980, it follows Luke Skywalker as he trains under Jedi Master Yoda, while Princess Leia, Han Solo, and the Rebel Alliance face ongoing threats from the Galactic Empire and Darth Vader.
