10/24/2024
A letter of this significance does not come along everyday. In fact maybe only after 44 years. At first glance your eyes are immediately drawn to the famous conceptual art work of Ralph McQuarrie, featuring the illustration of Luke Starkiller and his light sword, standing above an early version of the Star Wars logo, and all of this is beautifully being used as it’s letterhead.
Next to George Lucas, Ralph McQuarrie is the man most responsible for the look and feel of the Star Wars universe. As Lucas said in the Ralph McQuarrie: Tribute to a Master documentary, “Ralph’s contribution to the Star Wars world is incalculable.” His drawings helped persuade 20th Century Fox to green-light what became one of the most successful movie franchises of all time, Star Wars.
Just as amazing is the content of this incredible letter, dated August 29, 1977, just three months after the release of the original Star Wars, is addressed to and in response to a letter sent by David Gerrold, the famed writer of “The Trouble with Tribbles” episode of Star Trek.
In this amazing piece of Star Wars history, George Lucas responds that he has asked that Gary Kurtz, the producer of the original Star Wars and soon to be follow up film “The Empire Strikes Back”, to read the material that Gerrold has sent in connection with writing for the “Star Wars” sequel.
This is a huge revelation connecting the Star Wars universe with the science-fiction royalty of Star Trek. At the conclusion of all of this, the Godfather of the Star Wars universe himself, George Lucas, has hand written his full signature, something that you will just never, ever, see. It’s an absolute rarity.
George Lucas was a dreamer, and a visionary, that believed so deeply in his ideas that he was able to build a legacy that is still growing and being carried on by others, almost 50 years later.