The space battles, the lightsaber duels, and the startling delineation of alien cultures and environments in Star Wars have fascinated generations of viewers, but it is the psychological richness of the characters that give the movies an emotional resonance. This book features script pages, concept art, storyboards, on-set photography, and more.

When Star Wars was released in 1977, everybody who saw and reviewed it considered the movie an exciting, innovative piece of pop culture, a fast-moving, special-effects laden fairy tale in space. The film, and the episodes that followed, created a worldwide phenomenon, a massive success for creator George Lucas’s production company Lucasfilm, his special effects company Industrial Light & Magic, and for the studio Twentieth Century Fox.

Over six movies and 28 years writer, director and producer George Lucas created the modern monomyth of our time, one that resonates with the child in us all.

The book begins with Anakin Skywalker as we watch him being trained as a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi, find love with the Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, and ultimately turn to the dark side of his nature and become more machine than man. Years later we follow moisture farmer Luke Skywalker on his journey through a galaxy far, far away, meeting extraordinary characters like the mysterious hermit Obi-Wan Kenobi, space pirates Han Solo and Chewbacca, loyal droids C-3PO and R2-D2, bold Princess Leia and the horrific Darth Vader, servant of the dark, malevolent Emperor.

To achieve his epic vision George Lucas created the space for ground-breaking visual effects and digital technologies that have forever changed the way we make and see visual entertainment.

Paul Duncan and the TASCHEN team, with the full cooperation of Lucasfilm, dive into the Lucasfilm archives to create a book profusely illustrated with script pages, production documents, concept art, storyboards, on-set photography, stills, and posters from the six Star Wars films written and produced by George Lucas.