Gallery: Exclusive: Olly Moss Reimagines Original Star Wars Trilogy for Mondo
01Olly Moss - Star Wars
British poster artist [Olly Moss](http://www.ollymoss.com/) shows his nerdy love for the original *Star Wars* trilogy in a trio of new posters he created for collectible art house Mondo. The prints, revealed exclusively by Wired.com in the first three frames of this gallery, go on sale at a random time Monday. They are the first in [Mondo](http://www.mondotees.com/)'s wildly popular *Star Wars* series to be crafted as traditional, theatrical one-sheet movie posters. The new posters show colorful silhouettes of C-3PO, Darth Vader and Boba Fett that are filled in with detailed imagery from *[Star Wars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_IV:_A_New_Hope), The Empire Strikes Back* and *Return of the Jedi*. To create original artwork for such rabidly adored films was daunting, Moss said, especially since so many of the visuals are already iconic. "It was so intimidating!" the artist told Wired.com in an e-mail interview. "There is such a wealth of great *Star Wars* art out there already, from paid professionals and from enthusiastic fans. I suppose my main aim was to make a set of *Star Wars* posters that were a little different from what people are used to seeing from the franchise, but still retained that essential *Star Wars* feel. I started by re-watching the original movies with a sketchbook on my lap, and just sort of went from there." Still, there was no backing away from the challenge. "If you're as big a nerd as I am, you just can't say no to *Star Wars*," Moss said. Moss has worked with Mondo and its parent company, Austin, Texas–based Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, frequently. He created the Alamo's 2010 [Rolling Roadshow](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2010/08/robocop-poster/) posters as well as Mondo's *[The Trouble With Tribbles](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2010/07/star-trek-posters-tribbles/)* poster. Justin Ishmael, Mondo's creative director, said Moss often nails his poster concepts on his first attempt. "Olly does sketches and will e-mail them to us and ... a lot of the times, they are exactly what the finals look like!" Ishmael said in an e-mail. "It's almost like seeing the inner workings of a genius' brain in real time." Given Moss' talent, he was a coveted artist for Mondo's *Star Wars* series, a high-stakes project for the art house. George Lucas is notoriously protective of his *Star Wars* images, and it took Ishmael and Mondo a year to woo Lucasfilm into licensing the characters and worlds that would grace the posters. Instead of flowers, Mondo sent over poster prototypes made with metallic and glow-in-the-dark ink. All that work paid off. Mondo has released 17 posters — and counting — in its *Star Wars* series, including a blueprint of R2-D2 and a series of six bounty hunters. Many of the prints sold out within minutes. Beyond the retail success, the featured artists and Ishmael have a personal stake in *Star Wars*. "We're fans first," Ishmael said. "I couldn't think of a reason to choose something, if it wasn't because we liked it. I guess we could get licenses for *Twilight* because it's hot. We'd make a lot of money, but *Twilight* is lame, and we only do stuff that we personally like."\* Moss, when asked about his most beloved *Star Wars* character and film, responded: "Obi-Wan and *Empire Strikes Back.* Duh." The Force is strong with this one. Follow [@MondoNews](http://twitter.com/MondoNews) on Twitter on Monday if you want to score one of the new *Star Wars* posters by Moss, which measure 24 inches by 36 inches (the first time Moss has done that size). The posters cost $50 each. If you miss your chance, well, that sucks, but two more posters in the series will be released by the end of 2010. __Above:__ *Star Wars* ----------- __Artist:__ Olly Moss __Size:__ 24 inches x 36 inches (each) __Limited edition of:__ 400 (each) __Price:__ $50 (each) __On sale:__ Dec. 20 (follow @MondoNews on Twitter for "on sale" announcement) *\* This writer maintains that* Twilight *has its merits.*
02Olly Moss - Empire
*The Empire Strikes Back* ------------------------- __Artist:__ Olly Moss __Size:__ 24 inches x 36 inches (each) __Limited edition of:__ 400 (each) __Price:__ $50 (each) __On sale:__ Dec. 20 (follow @MondoNews on Twitter for "on sale" announcement)
03Olly Moss - Return of Jedi
*Return of the Jedi* -------------------- __Size:__ 24 inches x 36 inches (each) __Limited edition of:__ 400 (each) __Price:__ $50 (each) __On sale:__ Dec. 20 (follow @MondoNews on Twitter for "on sale" announcement)
0410 Banthas
*10 Banthas* ------------ __Artist:__ Jay Ryan __Size:__ 18 inches x 24 inches __Limited edition of:__ 175 __On sale:__ Dec. 14 (sold out in 15 minutes)
05SanctuaryMoon
*Sanctuary Moon* ---------------- __Artist:__ Daniel Danger __Size:__ 24 inches x36 inches __Limited edition of:__ 230 __On sale:__ Dec. 10 (sold out in 10 minutes)
06Han Shot First
*Han Shot First* ---------------- __Artist:__ Florian Bertmer __Size:__ 24 inches x 34 inches __Limited edition of:__ 400 __On sale:__ Dec. 2 (sold out in 45 minutes)
07A Linch Pin Droid
*A Linch Pin Droid* ------------------- __Artist:__ [Kevin Tong](http://tragicsunshine.com/) __Size:__ 24 inches x 36 inches __Limited edition of:__ 400 __On sale:__ Nov. 26 (sold out in five minutes) __Artist statement:__ My print is called *A Linch Pin Droid* and it's an exploded view of R2-D2, my favorite character in the *Star Wars* trilogy. For this print, I made certain that I stayed true to the original trilogy and spent months watching and pausing it. Although this print is largely technical, I was hoping that by showing R2-D2's individual tools and components all spread out, people can reflect on the moments in the trilogy where he used those devices to save the day and the galaxy."
08Scrap Yard Power Droid
*Scrap Yard Power Droid* ------------------------ __Artist:__ [Jeff Soto](http://www.jeffsoto.com/) __Size:__ 24 inches x 36 inches __Limited edition of:__ 350 (hand-numbered) __On sale:__ June 25 (sold out in one hour) __Artist statement:__ "*Star Wars* was a pretty big deal for me as a kid. I was only 2 when the movie came out, and I can't even remember if I saw it or not in the theater. The characters and story were known to many of us mainly from the toys! The toys! Oh they were wonderful, and we played with them for hours — and wore out the Best and Sears catalog! One of my favorite action figures was the power droid, and I didn't really know much about the little guy, but for some reason he (I pictured it being male for some reason) captivated my imagination. I realized at some time that he's barely even in the movie, which added to his mystique. Over the years he functioned as the worn-out, floppy-legged power supply for numerous Transformers, G.I. Joes and Construx. He is small and cute, and found a place in my childhood heart. I still have the little guy. This piece is an ode to the power droid!"
09Salacious B. Crumb
*Salacious B. Crumb* -------------------- __Artist:__ [Rhys Cooper](http://studioseppuku.bigcartel.com/) __Limited edition of:__ 325 __Size:__ 24 inches x 36 inches __On sale:__ Sept. 30 (sold out in 10 minutes) __Artist statement:__ "I always thought Salacious Crumb is the kind of character that makes *Star Wars* great. Little personalities like his are what give the galaxy far, far away its depth and diversity."
10Raider
*Raider* -------- __Artist:__ [Dave Kinsey](http://www.kinseyvisual.com/) __Size:__ 24 inches x 36 inches __Limited edition of:__ 350 (hand-numbered) __On sale:__ July 8 (sold out in 25 minutes) __Artist statement:__ "The Tusken raiders, like Gonk, have really stayed with us at Mondo over the years; easily one of the most unique characters of the original trilogy. Even with very little screen time, the look, mannerisms (riding single file to conceal their numbers) and even the sounds that the sand people made are classic. We are proud to make this our second offering in the series." *—Justin Ishmael, Mondo's creative director*
11Luke's Destiny
*Luke's Destiny* ---------------- __Artist:__ [Frank Stockton](http://www.frankstockton.com/) __Limited edition of:__ 360 __Size:__ 24 inches x 36 inches __On sale:__ Oct. 28 (sold out in 10 minutes) __Artist statement:__ "I chose to illustrate what is, to me, the most poignant moment of all the films. Luke, who was broken down, battered, and disfigured by Vader, was offered the chance to save himself by compromising his ideals and betraying his friends. With seemingly no chance of survival, he makes the decision to leap into the dangerous and uncertain unknown. This is the moment of him making that choice."
12Hoth
*Hoth* ------ __Artist:__ [Dan McCarthy](http://www.danmccarthy.org/art%20prints/00artprints.new.html) __Size:__ 12 inches x 36 inches __Limited edition of:__ 475 (hand-numbered) __On sale:__ Aug. 20 (sold out in 12 minutes) __Artist statement:__ "Dan McCarthy is well-known for prints that depict vast landscapes, but more importantly, he's great at conveying mood. For this reason, we thought he'd be perfect for the scene on Hoth in *Empire Strikes Back* where the probe droids infiltrate the Rebel defenses and alert the Empire to their whereabouts. Notice the streaks in the sky as they enter the atmosphere ... this is literally the calm before the storm." *—Justin Ishmael, Mondo's creative director*
13Great Warrior
*Great Warrior* --------------- __Artist:__ [Todd Slater](http://www.toddslater.net/) __Size:__ 17 inches x 24 inches __Limited edition of:__ 385 __On sale:__ Aug. 26 (sold out in five minutes) __Artist statement:__ "From the first time that I saw *Star Wars*, I was captivated by the mystery of Yoda's species and home world. For Yoda, Dagobah was a place to disappear, and I see him as being at one with the landscape. For this print I wanted to camouflage him as a part of this murky planet using leaves, sticks, ferns and other flora found in the swamps. The image is printed on black paper with a shiny black varnish layer in the background. The varnished layer reveals even more of Dagobah and is shown as a transparency through Yoda's face. The *kanji* (japanese characters) on the left side gives one-word representations of the six stages I identified in Luke's Jedi training: the meeting of a great warrior, the discovery of a Jedi's strength, entering of a domain of evil, learning that size matters not, seeing the future and finally, the confrontation of Vader. The screen print is seven colors, which is the most I've done to date."
14Father - Encounter on Dagobah
*Father: Encounter on Dagobah* ------------------------------ __Artist:__ [Tomer Hanuka](http://www.thanuka.com/info.php) __Size:__ 19 inches x 25 inches __Limited edition of:__ 350 (hand-numbered) __On sale:__ July 29 (sold out in 30 minutes) __Artist statement:__ "The central idea going into this image was depicting planet Dagobah itself as a portrait of Luke's subconscious in its most interesting and unformed phase. In a nightmarish sequence, Luke runs into the mist where he thinks he saw Vader. Luke finds him and a lightsaber duel ends with Vader's decapitation. The mask cracks open on the severed head, exposing the frozen face of a dead Luke Skywalker. The suggestion here is that somewhere within Luke's psyche there is a potential for ultimate evil. Luke's greatest challenge isn't the Galactic Empire and its endless, faceless troopers, but the magnetism of the dark side; the seductive idea of choosing his own potential for power over everything else."
