‘Star Wars’ Production Designer Celebrates His Episode ‘IX Wrap’ by Sharing His Designs
Star Wars Episode IX hasn’t completely wrapped, but one special Lucasfilm employee has just finished his work on the franchise. Over the past five films, Jake Lunt Davies has worked as a Production Designer for the films, and he says it’s been a dream come true.
He shared a collage on his creations on instagram recently, writing,
So this week my contract ended on Star Wars EpIX….which kind of means after 5 years and 5 movies, I’ve finally finished on Star Wars. As a kid this was my childhood ambition and I still can’t believe that I’ve now actually had this opportunity to be part of and contribute to the legacy of the Star Wars galaxy.
He describes what he designed for each of the films, which include The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi and Solo. He goes onto thank his director Neal Scanlan, and team of sculptors, mould makers, seamers, fabrication workers, animatronic designers, and more. There is certainly a lot that goes into creating one tiny Porg.
Above are a few of the things I designed for TFA, Rogue 1, TLJ and Solo. However as much as I and my concept colleagues @lukedfisher@martin_rezard and Ivan Manzella get to dream up all these characters and ideas, none of it would happen or become reality without the brilliant team we work with under Neal Scanlan’s leadership – the sculptors; the mould makers, foam shop and seamers; the fabrication team; the model makers; the mechies, animatronic designers and electronics guys; the hair team; the painters and make-up artists; and the performers that finally bring these creatures to life.
He thanks Scanlan for having him on the team, and all the directors including JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson and also Kathleen Kennedy.
Thank you Neal for asking me to be part of the team. Beyond the CFX department I’d also thank Costume Designers Michael Kaplan, @glyn_dillon and Dave Crossman plus the CG artists at @ilmvfx for adding their magic to our work. And thanks to JJ, @riancjohnson, Gareth Edwards, @realronhoward, Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Kathleen Kennedy for going with my designs for your movies. #starwars #theforceawakens #tfa #episodevii #rogueone #thelastjedi #episodeviii #tlj #solo #soloastarwarsstory #episodeix #bb8 #porg #porgs #reysspeeder #luggabeast #conceptdesign #creaturedesign #creaturefx #animatronic #ilmvfx #ambitionfulfilled
Look at the myriad of every creation he had a hand in; pretty impressive.
These creations are just the ones from the past 5 years that he’s had a hand in, and boy have there been so many beloveds. The next step after the production designers draw up the designs is for the sculptors to bring them to life.
Like we said, the film’s produtcion hasn’ completely wrapped, but once it does, that will mark the end of the latest Star Wars Trilogy which will conclude the story of the Skywalkers. In the films, only Leia is still living. Han and Luke have both died.
The film will star Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant join the cast. Veterans Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams, will be back to reprise roles of Luke Skywalker, C-3PO and Lando Calrissian.
Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters in December 2019.
Micajah McGregor, Editor in Chief of FanFest.com and renowned entertainment journalist, graduated from USC with a focus on Journalism and Film Studies. With an MBA from The Wharton School, he began his career at “PopCulture Pulse” and has been instrumental in shaping FanFest into a prime entertainment news source. Known for his financial analysis of celebrity net worths, Micajah received the ‘Digital Editor of the Year’ award in 2018. He’s also an active blogger, sharing his passion for superhero films and ’90s TV. Contact him at [email protected] for engaging entertainment insights.
