Revisiting Marilee Heyer’s Beautiful Leia Concept Art for ‘Return of the Jedi’
Concept art has played a huge role in the construction of the Star Wars universe, serving as inspiration and a foundation for most of the series’ visual elements. Fashion illustrator Marilee Heyer was one of these talented concept artists, responsible for Leia’s hairstyles and designs as seen in the third installment of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, which celebrates its 40th anniversary today.
An early career working on children’s cartoons gave her the storyboarding experience that would come in useful when looking for a job at Lucasfilm, after she adored the first two Star Wars films. As she told StarWars.com,
“I was just crazy about them…When the second film came out, I really, really loved it. I read about the operations being in San Rafael and just really wanted to see if I could work out there.”
Heyer was signed on as a storyboard artist to assist Nilo Rodis-Jamero, the costume designer for Return of the Jedi. In her lunch breaks, she would sketch ideas for Leia’s costumes, and eventually the incredible, refined style of her work led Rodis-Jamero to enlist her to create polished, intricate designs for Leia’s hairstyles in the film based on the original designs by hairdresser Paul LeBlanc.
Heyer was asked to stay on in the art department, and only left once Return of the Jedi was completed. Four of her illustrations are featured in the 1983 book, The Art of Return of the Jedi, which sadly left her uncredited in the initial publication, an error that was corrected in the 1997 reprint.
The artist was also responsible for her uncredited work on the illustrated production logo for Return of the Jedi, which was used on production stickers and crew patches for the film.
Even though she was asked to stay on the Lucasfilm art department after her amazing contribution, she contemplated the possibility for a moment and decided to move on, as she explained:
“I was tempted to stay because I was thinking, like everybody, that there were going to be three or four more Star Wars movies. But I was told that after Return of the Jedi, George was taking a hiatus and that nobody really knew how long before the next Star Wars movie was going to come out. For my security and for my career, I just decided to go back to [San Francisco fashion company] I. Magnin, who was holding my job for me.
It was a great experience and I just I loved working there and seeing the whole process. It was just so exciting!”
Heyer’s incredible artwork will live on through the adored film and its concept art which remains an important part of its legacy.
Rosalie Lambert is a law student from Australia with a deep love for Star Wars, fantasy, and epic stylistic storytelling. Growing up in the country, Rosalie has always loved nature and outdoor activities, and has a passion for human rights and social justice that she wants to work towards in her field of study.
