Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Star Destroyer Retrofit Bay (2017)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker production designer Darren Gilford charged us with coming up with a Star Destroyer deck set for the massive stages at Cardington that could accommodate a cavalry charge!

Director J.J. Abrams had been kicking the idea around for quite awhile in development, but it wasn't until he set the scene on the deck of a Star Destroyer that the concept really gelled. To this purpose, A pre-war era dirigible hangar in the town of Cardington had been booked for the set. It was simply enormous, so had ample space to run horses. The surface, however, had to be flat and smooth for the safety of the animals, which posed a conceptual challenge, as Star Destroyer decks are sloped. As well, the sides of the hangar had permanent steel truss scaffolding, which Darren identified as an opportunity for some free production value if we could incorporate it into the design. Since at the time the Star Destroyers were to have been docked in an orbital factory being retro-fit with planet-killer weapons, this would make for a perfect "repair gantry" that could also serve to host sniping Stormtroopers, as well as a platform for long tracking dolly shots as the horses charge.

In Modo, I mocked up a cantilevered gantry that evoked the unfinished quality of the Death Star II using an Art Department model of the scaffolding, and blocked out a section of Star Destroyer just below the bridge incorporating a level area into the slope. I then rendered a couple of views in Photoshop to show how the greenscreen set might sit in the space, as well as how it would look with a VFX digital extension. Of course, my vision for it would probably have cost the entire construction budget of the movie, but it could certainly have been scaled back to whatever was producible, the rest completed in CGI. All in all though, I was pleased with how the existing structure integrated into the design.

View looking out to identical bays across the cylindrical factory station. Do a search for David "Vyle" Levy's awesome designs for the factory as a whole.

View looking out to identical bays across the cylindrical factory station. Do a search for David "Vyle" Levy's awesome designs for the factory as a whole.

The same shot rendered to simulate the actual set on the green-screened Cardington stage.

The same shot rendered to simulate the actual set on the green-screened Cardington stage.

Looking back into the bay toward the tower bridge of the Star Destroyer.

Looking back into the bay toward the tower bridge of the Star Destroyer.

Once again the same shot rendered to preview the set at Cardington. Look at the scale of Stormtroopers for an idea just how big this stage is!!

Once again the same shot rendered to preview the set at Cardington. Look at the scale of Stormtroopers for an idea just how big this stage is!!