This original Ron Cobb painting “Man on lizard crossing over” inspired George Lucas' Dewback creature from Star Wars.

 

Oil on Masonite (35.75 x 29.75 in.), Depicting a Samurai-looking warrior atop a lumbering giant lizard, signed “R Cobb ‘75” at the lower left corner. Screenwriter / director John Milius bought this painting in a Los Angeles gallery in 1975, hanging it in his office while he was working on the movie The Wind and the Lion. During that period, friend and former USC classmate George Lucas was in the early stages of prepping Star Wars. When George Lucas first saw this painting he was immediately taken with it, and it served as the inspiration for the giant lizard-like Dewback creatures ridden by Stormtroopers on Tatooine in the original Star Wars.

 

Incidentally, Lucas hired Ron Cobb as a concept artist on Star Wars to design some aliens for the cantina sequence, including Duros, and he later worked on such classics as Alien, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Conan the Barbarian, Aliens, Back to the Future, The Last Starfighter and The Abyss.

 

Here is the story from Ron Cobb, published Starbust magazine #16 (dec 1979) by Dez Skinn : "When I was doing the aliens for the Cantina scens in Star Wars, I look at some of the stills of the stuff they shot in Tunisia, and suddenly I came to this picture of a stormtrooper sitting on the bacak of a big lizard and it looked an awful lot like a painting I did for John Milius, almost the same pose and everything. Strange ! I didn't think anything of it, just a coincicende, and then many months later I was talking to Milius and he sais, 'Your lizard - my paintings's in Star Wars. Lucas was up here one night and he saw it and said he wanted to try tu put it in Star Wars.' They started to build the lizards, but they were only able to build the upper part, they weren't able to build the legs. They ended up with camel-like legs whereas mine ahad great big iguana-like legs. I just made it up. it was an image I though John Milius would like. He 's just finished Wind and the Lion, then."

 

Later, this piece graced the cover of Starlog Magazine issue # 57.

 

This artwork has remained in John Milius ’collection ever since 1975 before arring in the collection of ScienceFictionArchives.com.

 

Size : (35.75 x 29.75 in.)