Star Wars: The Force Awakens shattered box-office records as one of the highest-grossing films of all time, and its eagerly awaited sequel, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, is sure to do the same.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson (Looper, The Brothers Bloom, Brick) and production designed by Rick Heinrichs (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Captain America: The First Avenger), this chapter, like every chapter before it, owes its visual language and fully imagined cinematic landscape to an incomparable art department: the Lucasfilm “visualists.” The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi explores their vision and illuminates their creative process in stunning detail. Featuring concept art and costume sketches, storyboards, and blueprints, fans will take a deep dive into the development of the fantastic worlds, characters, and creatures—both old and new—of The Last Jedi.
Featuring unforgettable art and exclusive interviews with the filmmakers, this visual archive highlights movie making magic at its finest.
About the Author
Phil Szostak has worked in conjunction with Star Wars art departments for eight years at Lucasfilm and is the author of The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015). A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, Szostak worked for Wild Brain Animation on the Disney Channel series Higglytown Heroes, and ran the JAK Films Art Department on Skywalker Ranch for over three years before joining the narrative design team on LucasArts's Star Wars 1313. He resides in San Francisco.
Industry Reviews
"The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, in case you're wondering/hunting for Christmas presents for your Star Wars-obsessed social circle, is a lush coffee table tome detailing the complex concept art that went into Rian Johnson's film. Telling the story of how various characters, creatures and locales were created, the book is packed with interviews from those who helped make the movie. In our actor-and-auteur-obsessed age, it also acts as a nice reminder of all the behind-the-scenes talents involved in such a huge production. One last bonus? It's an extremely beautiful volume (think pages of hand-drawn porgs!), packed with nerdy nuggets and unexpected artistic insights (porgs could have been purple!)." Daily Telegraph
"Through 300 gorgeous illustrations, Phil Szostak takes you through the Lucasfilm storyboards, character profiles, and concept art that became Rian Johnson's triumphant The Last Jedi." Esquire online
"As darkness rises to meet the challenge of light within a galaxy far, far away, fans can discover the next phase of the STAR WARS saga's artistic genesis with the newly-released The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, out now in gorgeous hardback, courtesy of those luminous talents at Abrams Books.
From the shorelines of the ancient islands of Ahch-To, to the pursued Resistance forces out in deep space, then on to the wacky races Casino realms of Canto Bight, completed by the red salt world visitation of the remote Crait, home to one of the most spectacular good and evil confrontations ever, this book, written by Phil Szostak, is your lavish personal gateway to how writer/director Rian Johnson and his magnificent ensemble artists brought us such a wondrous and epic new chapter of the franchise, playing in cinemas worldwide as you read this..." Star Wars Aficionado
"The beautiful shots and landscapes you see framed onscreen all started out as concept art created by talented artists, much of which is collected in The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi by Phil Szostak, from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Abrams Books. We've got two exclusive images from the art book that shed some light on the earliest stages of The Last Jedi" Games Radar
"The latest in this collection of the Art of Star Wars delves deeply into the making of this massive blockbuster. From sketch to screen, puppets, motion capture and CGI, this book reveals every artistic detail of The Last Jedi, and the fact that, of course, Porgs are real!" Foyles blog
"...this superlative memoir of the film is the perfect keepsake for fans of science fiction and Star Wars alike. A whole host of brilliant artists contributed their artwork to the book, and the full page illustrations are indicative of the love these artists feel for their subject, and their dedication to getting things right for the directors and producers. This is science fiction at its very, very finest, and the book is nothing short of wonderful." Books Monthly
"The Art of The Last Jedi offers a well-written and carefully selected glimpse into the production process. . . The reproduction here of the work is astounding as it always is in these books and the double page spreads that focus on specific concept art really add to the visual impact. . . Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the work of many hands just like all of its predecessors and The Art Of Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a wonderful celebration of all that attention to detail and the invention that goes into the making of a Star Wars film. A great late Christmas present or a birthday present for the Star Wars fan in your life." Tripwire Magazine
"Thanks to the newly released Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi book, we have a sneak peek at where Lucas would have gone with the sequel trilogy. . . . Images from the book have begun circulating online, Luke seen on a leafy, rocky planet that looks like a combination of Ach-To designed by prequel-era Lucas. One Jedi temple is very notable, having a bell shape." Independent.co.uk
"The Art of The Last Jedi is an essential document of the design ideas that shaped the film. Szostak wisely lets Johnson speak as often as possible throughout. As a result, this art of volume gets even closer to a making of, which one couldn't reasonably expect to arrive for years after the fact. The format of these particular behind the scenes Star Wars books is being perfected year on year. This is the finest one to date of the new era, just like The Last Jedi is the finest picture." thefutureoftheforce.com
"ship-loads of pictures of critters . . . Johnson supplies a foreward and plenty of input thereafter" Total Film 5 Star Review
"The Art Of Star Wars: The Last Jedi by Phil Szostak offers beautiful and fascinating storyboards and insights into the production and design of the film, from the visually stunning battle on Crait to everyone's new favourite scene-stealers the Porgs." SciFiNow 5 Star Review
"Moving past the film itself and on into additional reading materials we have the excellent "The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi" a phenomenal look at the many ideas that were and were not used in the creation of the film. Sometimes what wasn't used is as interesting as what made it into the film itself. Phil Szostak guides readers through a massive number of storyboards and costume sketches offering a glimpse into the massive creative production that is a Star Wars Films." KUTV online
