There’s many an argument to be had about the relative merits or un-merits (demerits?) of the Star Wars films in the Disney years, but one thing at which they’ve all excelled is looking amazing. The Force Awakens, Rogue One, and The Last Jedi have all been visually striking, and the first trailer for Solo looks to be following suit. So this needs to continue for J.J. Abrams‘ Episode IX, surely, and they’ve wasted no time in hiring one of the best art directors in the game. Paul Inglis, who was most recently the supervising art director for Blade Runner 2049, has joined the crew of the final Skywalker family film.
Inglis has an impressive list of credits as art director (usually credited as Supervising Art Director or Senior Art Director) including Children of Men, Prometheus, Skyfall, and the entire first season of Game of Thrones. Blade Runner 2049 is perhaps his crowning achievement; it’s one of the best designed movies ever made, especially coupled with Roger Deakens’ Oscar-nominated cinematography. Though Inglis wasn’t given a nomination for his work on the brilliant sci-fi epic, each setting and future location is a masterpiece.
What Inglis also provides us, in terms of speculating about the next Star Wars film (something we deeply love to do), is get an idea for the kind of scenery we’re likely to see. The films and TV show listed above all have a certain sense of brutalism, featuring huge buildings and monoliths. Even Skyfall, which has the most “realistic” setting of the bunch, ends in a shootout in a massive old house that sits as a castle in the middle of the Scottish moors. So we might well see some colorful yet stony structures in the upcoming film. And let me tell you, a Star Wars movie looking like Blade Runner 2049 would be a cool-ass thing indeed.
Images: Warner Bros
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
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