Ryan Church | |
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Born | Long Beach, California, U.S. | July 18, 1971
Education | Art Center College of Design (B.S.) University of California, Los Angeles (B.A.) |
Occupation(s) | Concept designer, industrial designer |
Years active | 1998 - present |
Website | www.ryanchurch.com |
Ryan Church (born July 18, 1971 in Long Beach, California) is an American concept designer best known for his designs of vehicles, planets, and architectures as a concept design supervisor on George Lucas's Attack of the Clones , Revenge of the Sith , and of the tripods in Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds . [1] [2]
He worked on James Cameron's Avatar (2009) and is responsible for the updated design of the USS Enterprise in J. J. Abrams's Star Trek films [2] [3] as well as the design of the Stealth Helicopters in Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and the Ship of the Imagination in Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014) presented by Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Church returned to the Star Wars franchise in 2013 as a concept artist for The Force Awakens , Rogue One and The Rise of Skywalker . He is also a concept supervisor on the television series The Mandalorian , Obi-Wan Kenobi , and Ahsoka .
Church graduated with honors in Transportation Design with emphasis on Entertainment Design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
Jedi, Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are fictional characters, and often protagonists, featured in many works within the Star Wars franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, the Jedi Order is depicted as a religious, academic, meritocratic, and military (peacekeeping) organization whose origin dates back thousands of years before the events of the first film released in the franchise. The fictional organization has inspired a real-world new religious movement and parody religion: Jediism.
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He is the protagonist of the original film trilogy and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a farmer on the planet Tatooine, Luke joins the Rebel Alliance and becomes a pivotal figure in the struggle against the Galactic Empire. He trains as a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, and eventually confronts his father, the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Years later, Luke trains his nephew Ben Solo and mentors the scavenger Rey. Luke is the twin brother of Leia Organa. The character is portrayed by Mark Hamill in six films and two television series. Luke also appears in animated series, novels, comics, and video games.
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He is the primary antagonist of the original film trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is a protagonist of the prequel trilogy. Born into slavery, he eventually becomes a powerful Jedi. He is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine, and transforms from Anakin into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. After being severely wounded in a lightsaber battle, he becomes a cyborg. He is the husband of Padmé Amidala, the father of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, and the grandfather of Ben Solo.
Count Dooku of Serenno, also known by his Sith name Darth Tyranus, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, created by George Lucas. He is an antagonist in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, appearing in both Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), played by Christopher Lee, as well as associated media, such as books, comics, video games, and television series. Actor Corey Burton has voiced Dooku in most of his animated and video game appearances, most notably Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003–2005), Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022). Lee reprised the role in the 2008 animated film that launched The Clone Wars series.
Yoda is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with The Force. He is a Jedi Master and a leader in the Jedi Order. Frank Oz voices and puppeteers Yoda in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, which was the character's first appearance. Oz voices Yoda in five additional films, puppeteering him in three of them. Yoda also appears in animated series, comics, novels, video games and commercials.
The Clone Wars is a fictional conflict in the Star Wars franchise by George Lucas. Though mentioned briefly in the first Star Wars film, the war itself was not depicted until Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). The Clone Wars are also the setting for three eponymous projects: a 2D animated series (2003–2005), a 3D film (2008), and a 3D animated series. They have featured in numerous Star Wars books and games.
Star Wars: Clone Wars is an American animated television series developed and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Lucasfilm and Cartoon Network Studios for Cartoon Network. Set in the Star Wars universe, specifically between the Star Wars prequel trilogy films Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, it is amongst the first of many works to explore the Clone Wars. The show follows the actions of various prequel trilogy characters, notably Jedi and clone troopers, in their war against the droid armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Sith.
Doug Chiang is an American film designer and artist. He is vice president and executive creative director of Lucasfilm and previous Chief Creative Officer (CCO) at Lucasfilm.
Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil is a 2005 novel by James Luceno set in the fictional Star Wars universe. The novel serves as a lead-in to Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and was loosely adapted into Volume Two of the Star Wars: Clone Wars microseries.
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader is a novel set in the non-canonical Star Wars Legends continuity, written by James Luceno, that was published by Del Rey on November 22, 2005. Dark Lord takes place in the immediate aftermath of the events in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and focuses on Darth Vader and his rise to power in the newly inaugurated Galactic Empire.
The Sith are the main antagonists of many works in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise. They are the antithesis and ancient enemies of the Jedi. The Sith Order is depicted as an ancient cult of warriors who draw strength from the dark side of the Force and use it to seize power by any means necessary, including terrorism and mass murder; their ultimate goals are to destroy the Jedi and rule the galaxy. The various antagonistic factions in the franchise, namely the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the First Galactic Empire, the Imperial Remnant, and the First Order, all originated with the Sith. Sith, known individually as Sith Lords, are, by nature, ruthless. At any point a single individual assumes absolute authority amongst their kind and is granted the honorific Dark Lord of the Sith. Sith culture is based on perpetual treachery and betrayal. The fate of Sith Lords is, typically, to be murdered and replaced by their own apprentices. Sith teach their apprentices to revere the dark side of the Force, to give full reign to aggressive emotions such as rage and hatred, and to believe that others are expendable in the pursuit of power, it makes the Lords' demise inevitable.
Ahsoka Tano is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. She was introduced as the 14-year-old Togruta Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) before appearing in the subsequent animated television series ; the sequel series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018); in the live-action film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) as a voiceover cameo; and in the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022), voiced by Ashley Eckstein. In 2020, Ahsoka made her live-action debut in the second season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Dawson reprised the role in a 2022 episode of the spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, and the 2023 series, Ahsoka.
A Star Wars Pez is a Pez candy dispenser themed after the Star Wars movies, and is one of the company's most prominent merchandising deals. Approximately 100 dispensers have been released on the market from 1997 to 2023, among the many collectibles spawned by the franchise.
Sheev Palpatine is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He first appeared in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back as The Emperor. He is also known by his Sith name, Darth Sidious, which was first used in the novelization of The Phantom Menace (1999). Palpatine is the main antagonist of the three film trilogies in the Skywalker Saga. In the original trilogy, he is the Emperor of the Galactic Empire and the mentor of Darth Vader, formerly known as Anakin Skywalker. The prequel trilogy chronicles his rise from senator to emperor. He orchestrates the invasion of his home planet Naboo in a plot to become Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, then masterminds the Clone Wars to turn the Republic into the Empire. He destroys the Jedi Order and manipulates Anakin into becoming his apprentice. In The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the final film in the sequel trilogy, a resurrected Palpatine reveals that he is the grandfather of the main protagonist Rey, and that he created Snoke to lead the First Order. Palpatine is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in all five Skywalker Saga films in which he physically appears.
Darth Maul, later known simply as Maul, is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as a powerful Sith Lord and Darth Sidious' first apprentice. Though seemingly killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of the film, Darth Maul returned in the 2008 animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Star Wars creator George Lucas had intended for the resurrected Maul to serve as the main antagonist of the sequel film trilogy, but these plans were abandoned when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. The character nonetheless reappeared in the 2014 animated series Star Wars Rebels and the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story, voiced again by Witwer; Park physically reprised the role in Solo. Since his initial defeat in The Phantom Menace, Maul has become an independent criminal mastermind and endured as Obi-Wan's archenemy.
Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel trilogy. Jackson later reprised the role with voice only in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the 2019 sequel film The Rise of Skywalker, whilst Terrence C. Carson voiced the character in other projects, such as The Clone Wars animated television series. The character also appears in various canon and non-canon Star Wars media like books, comics, and video games.
Padmé Amidala is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. She first appears in The Phantom Menace as the teenage queen of the fictional planet Naboo. After her reign, she becomes a member of the Galactic Senate. She secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, and later dies while giving birth to the twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé drives him toward the dark side of the Force, which eventually results in his transformation into Darth Vader. Natalie Portman portrays Padmé in all three films of the prequel trilogy. Catherine Taber, Grey DeLisle and Montana Norberg provide the character's voice in animated productions and video games.
Star Wars Transformers is a Hasbro toy line started in 2006. The line features robot versions of various characters from the Star Wars franchise that transform into vehicles from the same series.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is an American space opera television miniseries produced by Lucasfilm for the streaming service Disney+. It is part of the Star Wars franchise. Set ten years after the Jedi Order was purged during the events of the film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), the series follows surviving Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi who emerges from hiding to rescue the kidnapped Princess Leia from the Galactic Empire's Inquisitors. This brings Kenobi into conflict with his former apprentice, Darth Vader.