Concept Artist Kemp Remillard Discusses His Incredible Cut-Away Illustration Of The Millennium Falcon
Fans around the world cheered with excitement and applause when the iconic Millennium Falcon freighter made its first appearance in over 30 years in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. One thing is still for sure, she remains the fastest ship in the entire Star Wars galaxy. With its triumphant return, one concept artist has created a beautiful illustration showing fans a much closer look into the interior of the legendary ship. Check it out!
Commercial concept artist Kemp Remillard created a new illustration that gives fans a closer look at the interior of the Millennium Falcon. The artists level of detail is incredible, down to the hyperdrive initiation lever.
TechInsider caught up with Remillard on how the images came together.
Take a closer look.
When the art editor of “Star Wars Incredible Cross-Sections,” a book series dedicated to dissecting the galaxy’s vehicles, first approached Remillard about illustrating the “Force Awakens” edition, the artist admits he was terrified of one ship in particular.
“The Falcon is probably one of the most mythologized fictional space ships ever and I wanted to make sure my version lived up to the standard set by generations of fans,” he told Tech Insider.
A lifelong fan of the franchise, he started doing his homework. Lucasflim provided reference images, technical manuals, and 3D renderings of the Millennium Falcon used in “The Force Awakens.” It was Remillard’s job to “fill in the blanks.”
He sketched out some layout options with pencil and paper, and later constructed the illustration in Photoshop using a 10-year-old electronic drawing tablet. The file size was roughly 1,000 times that of the printed page, allowing him to include details that almost can’t be seen with the naked eye.
Part of the fun of the assignment was building on the “Star Wars” mythos. There are Easter eggs hidden in the image that answer many fans’ questions about the movies.
One of his favorites is a hatch on the top of the Falcon.
“I really wanted to put in a solve that shows where Lando pops out of the Falcon to save Luke as he’s dangling from the bottom of Cloud City in ‘The Empire Strikes Back,'” Remillard says. “The Falcon source material pointed to it being here, but in the movie it’s not exactly clear.”
Diehard fans may recognize this item tucked away from the original “Star Wars” movie. It’s the floating orb that zaps Luke in his training session with Obi-Wan aboard the Falcon.
“Once I finally got to see the [‘The Force Awakens’], I was happy to see a scene where Finn picks it up and then tosses it aside,” Remillard says.
A holochess table, used for playing the classic strategy game Dejarik, also makes an appearance in Remillard’s illustration.
In “A New Hope,” the characters hide under the floor panels in the hallway of the Falcon. Remillard figured it couldn’t be the only secret compartment in a smuggler’s ship. He added a small removable panel behind a sleeping bunk that allows crew members to access the front cargo hold (without using the front cargo elevator).
Lucasfilm also clued Remillard in on some plot points in “The Force Awakens” before its 2015 release — but not before swearing him to secrecy.
“I was let in on some details about the movie that would affect the look and feel of the new vehicle’s background,” he says, such as any wear and tear on the Falcon.
He also discovered that the First Order had learned from previous Imperial mistakes and installed hyperdrives in its SFX Tie Fighter vehicles. One of the more controversial add-ons to the Falcon was a galley and kitchen, supposedly gifted from Han Solo to Leia Organa after their wedding. Fans were in an uproar over the so-called wedding gift, but Remillard says it was never intended as a commentary on traditional gender roles. They simply wanted to answer the question, “Where does the crew eat aboard the Falcon?”
“I also just really wanted to have an excuse to draw some of the ‘Star Wars’ appliances like we get to see in Aunt Beru’s kitchen on Tattooine,” he says.
A blue mug sits on the counter, which Remillard says is blue because Chewie drinks “vaporated blue milk and Bothan Splenda” from it.
Ultimately, Remillard’s illustration serves as a testament to the beauty and power of the ship that’s sheltered our heroes through nearly 40 years of “Star Wars” movies. He says it’s not entirely a realistic rendering of modern spacecrafts, but that’s okay.
“The science borrows from our reality but is in no way beholden to it,” Remillard says. “The spacecraft in ‘Star Wars’ are supposed to excite our imagination and hold true to what I like to call the ‘rule of cool,’ which means, concepts have to be cool above all other concerns.”
The Starship, or at least the artist’s reimagining of it, is definitely very cool. You can see more concept art of the movie’s ships in Remillard’s book, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens Incredible Cross-Sections.”
Check back for more Star Wars news here at SWNN. You can also discuss the Millennium Falcon’s interior below or in The Cantina forum.
May the Force be with you…
We’ve never seen the galley/crew cabin, the front cargo hold or the the rear of the ship on film before. Hopefully we’ll see that eventually.
…fans were in an uproar about Leia getting a kitchen installed as a wedding gift? I mean, in the modern era, I can see that being a problem, but come the fuck on, I’d LOVE it if the guy I married installed a kitchen in his spaceship for me! It would mean he’s spending less of our money on Space McDonalds, plus I’d have a place to go when I’m hungry during a daring space mission with him!
I would love to live inside this peace of junk and travel through the galaxy all my entire life.
I was 9 when Star Wars first came out. I thought by the time I was Han Solo’s age, we’d literally be that far advanced. Instead, 39 years later, we’ve not even moved on from the space shuttle, and I do a boring as shit job in an office. Think I’ll go and get drunk again.
Our teachers lied to us, man. They said we’d have moon bases by the early 2000’s. No one’s even been to the moon since the 70’s!
Ummm…. how does this differ from the other published Falcon interior sketches ? :o)
Maybe it’s because I don’t have my glasses on but I don’t see the hatch Lando used to catch Luke from plummeting to his death at the bottom of Cloud City in ESB after his duel with Vader.
Idk about the location of the ‘hatch’ he says Lando used. I always felt it to be towards the front/middle of the ship somewhere, but he is correct in saying ESB doesn’t make it clear. It’s really not an important thing to bitch about but that is one of my favorite scenes from the movie, and it just bothers me. I’d go as far as to say the location of this ‘hatch’ is wrong, unless it was redesigned for some reason. That hatch looks like something you’d see on the ‘Gravity’ movie. I expect Sandra Bullock to pop out of it when I look at it. Really not something to grab ahold of, but all in all it’s an amazing cutaway. He’s talented as hell.
They should do one of these for Rebels now.
Where’s the bathroom?
“In space, no one can hear you flush”
You just hang out of the top where that access door was drawn..
I’m going to watch the Lando / Luke scene in Empire again. I seem to remember it being more towards the front of the ship. And if that’s the case none of this means anything. But hey I’m going to check.