A Photo of “Bullhead” – New X-Wing Pilot from Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
Oscar Isaac’s character Poe Dameron may be “the best fricking pilot in the galaxy”, but now we have an exclusive look at the best looking one…
SPOILERS!!!
Yesterday TheForce.net and MakingStarWars.net revealed some really cool looking concepts with an alien creature called “Bullhead”. There were some speculations that the art with Bullhead as an X-Wing pilot was never approved, but as you can see below, this is exactly what the Bullhead character is playing in The Force Awakens. Since the character has been already revealed and the cat is out of the bag, we’ve decided to post the real photo from the set with Bullhead as an X-Wing pilot:
Looking great! Another great job by the creature shop team. As you can see, the background matches with the Resistance Base that was shot at Greenham Common. The same base can be seen all over the Behind the Scenes video, especially during the interviews.
Keep in mind that during the Lucasfilm panel at SDCC, J.J. Abrams showed a similar creature but situated on Jakku. Although there are some similarities with the head, they are completely different characters:
Many people were wondering where the Bullhead name is coming from. Our best guess is that the facial design has been inspired in part by a bullhead catfish (note the barbels at the corners of its mouth.)
So what do you think? Do you approve the latest addition to the Resistance forces? Tell us in the comments below or join us in The Cantina.
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
Cool! I love this look and the possible inspiration.
And it is not CGI. Jesus, there is so much work in its creation! I mean it looks incredibly real.
Resistance battleships?
🙂
There was plenty of work done on CGI creatures in the prequels. Sebulba and Watto were some of my favorites in terms of detail.
I am not an anti-CGI activist. I appreciate any kind of work.
What about FO walkers? Do they exist? 🙂
BURN THE CGI – we’re with you bro… LEAD US TO GLORY BURN THE CGI BURN THEM ALL TO HELL
Sebulba and Watto are great SW characters.
Realistic!!!! Really. Nope. Dodgy rubber puppet more like.
Think this may have been the inspiration. In fact I was convinced this was one of the aliens from space precinct. Seriously. Look at it….
http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/space-precinct/32420/looking-back-at-gerry-andersons-space-precinct
Selkath, I say!
Also, first.
Andy, I was reminded a bit of the Selkath too. It also reminds me a bit of “Poggle the Lesser” from AOTC.
I dig the creature design on this one. It’s reminiscent of some of the best creature designs from ROTJ, but at the same time it has it’s own feel to it.
But yeah, there’s definitely a touch of Manaan about him, isn’t there? ;^)
It does look like a Genosian warrior that was fattened around Jabba the Hutt! Notice Salacious Crumb; but, Salacious went down on Sail Barge in ROJ after R2-D2 zapped it from chewing C-3PO’s eye! This is decoy news, I suspect!
Hell yeah. You called it yesterday and again, I agree !
I think it would be cool to have a selcath in the movie.
It CAN’T be! That would be awful. Original Selkath are much much different, especially with the difference of the skin/scales composition.
As a fan, I would not like that change for sure.
Now that is what I call STAR WARS!!!! =)
Nice ‘stache!
Very cool. 🙂
Effing awesome. Stuff like this is just so STAR WARS.
Nice. Also nice that on occasions MSW can be wrong too. Okay, it maybe a background character but its there.
how were they wrong exactly? Making Star Wars actually said there was going to be an x-wing pilot like this about 6 months ago.
Do you have a link?
Yesterday they said this was a discarded concept.
Hi Jason…
That’s a little freaky looking.
Too many new species for my taste. I hope we will see familiar species because from the leaks it doesnt’t look like Star Wars at all, more like a parody or a movie close to making copyright infringement.
I agree it’s kind of weird that we haven’t seen ANY Rodians, Twi’leks, Aqualish, Bith, etc. Where are the mainstays?
I’ve noticed that too. But then again, we really haven’t seen all that many images from the movie, which is unusual given that we’re only 5 months out from Opening Day.
I suspect we’ll see some old favorites like that, but I also get the impression that J.J. may be looking to show a much larger SW universe than we may be used to. Part of it may just be that Tatooine turned up a whole lot in both the OT and PT, but it did seem like we saw Rodians, Aqualish and Twi’leks all over the place in the OT and PT films. I’m sure they’ll be in the mix in TFA too, but maybe not quite so much as in the past.
But I’m just guessing. Like I said, we really haven’t yet seen much of what lies in store for us in TFA.
My guess is they’ll be a small part of a MUCH LARGER universe.
Yeah, I guess looking at it one way, we only really saw those species on Coruscant (galactic capital) and one backwater planet (Tatooine).
Yeah, I’ve been worried about not seeing some of the more common species as well. Even in the new canon books, comics, etc. Twi’leks, for example, seem to be one of the most common species in the galaxy after humans. But I’m pretty sure they let Abrams do whatever he wanted. I think he was trying a little too hard to follow what George did with A New Hope, and create a whole bunch of brand new, crazy aliens. I doubt anyone told him, “Hey, J.J., you should include a few more Twi’leks and Rodians in the film.” I hope I’m wrong, though, cuz while it’s cool to see some new species added to the canon, it would seem disconnected from the rest of the saga if we didn’t see several more familiar species in there too.
oh really? because i thought JJ was pandering to the episode 4 crowd, modeling this movie directly after a new hope.
We need Gungans! More Gungan please! And add them digitally in the OT as well, where the hell are the mainstays???
Yeah man, I definitely could do with more Gunga…
Now that would have made EVERYTHING better, a Rastafarian Gungan… Dutch ovens in the (wave of the hand) *transport*, poor Obi Wan coughing his lungs up…
*wave of the hand* we could use a lighter… mesa give you una bong’o’, the fastest way to smoke da Shaboo is through da pyro draw…
Every Star Wars film has revealed a host of new alien races without going back to old ones hardly at all. This looks like it will be no different. The only reason that twi’leks, etc, are mainstays is because shows like Clone Wars and Rebels come back to them frequently. The films really don’t, though.
Nieman Numb and Ackbar are in it too…Maybe you want some recognizable Ewoks and a Jar Jar Binks? 🙂
I’d love to see Jar Jar Binks, only recognizable when examining still frames. He should be flying some spacecraft that gets shot down or crashes into an asteroid.
People complain that it’s too different, and people complain it’s too similar. Poor JJ…
Yes, that’s pretty much the situation. I’d say that the only way to please some people is to make the OT again, exactly the same … but then, look at how much flak Lucas gets, too. 😉 There’s probably literally no way to make a Star Wars movie that would satisfy a certain segment of the fans…
“Too many new creatures!”
“Too many OT references!”
Yup. Damned if they do, damned if they don’t!
Me? I’m going to buy my ticket and see what the movie is like before deriding or praising anything.
So…yeah. Ask me how I feel after the credits roll!
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE it!
I was sad to read that I wouldn’t get to see him wearing a helmet yesterday, but now it looks like he might be? I love the idea of a pilot’s helmet with individual visors for each eye! That looked so cool… good find guys 🙂
this guy looks great, perfect for the star wars universe. kind of fantastical and absurd with a slight cartoonish lovable look. this is the stuff I love, smart character design.
F*****g awesome creature!!! release more stuff! anyone has to be first, hehe 😉
Catfish is out of the bag!
Ha, good one. 🙂
there is also a greedo-catfish (Peckoltia greedoi) 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnZXQB6NcKk
Nice work! I like the name “Bullhead”. It reminds me of the good old days when it was “Hammerhead” and not “Mamow Nadon”. I’m sure someone is in charge of suitably dorking up the name of the inevitable action figure.
Holy crap, there’s originality in this film! I like it!!
…until we find out that even this is inspired by a Ralph McQuarrie design.
looks like this guy
http://nl.starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bestand:Chata_Hyoki.jpg
My thoughts exactly. I was just about to look for a link for an image of that lad when I stumbled upon your comment
I disagree
Great find guys I like how you do business unlike MSW at least you guys seem to be humble with any attention you receive
I just go with whomever gets the scoop out first. Whether it’s this site, MSW, or SWU, I go to the respective site that publishes the piece of TFA-related news 1st.
excuse me, but making star wars could have said “see? The desert planet was Jakku! See? SEE???” while the rest of the world *insisted* it was Tatooine.
I think some of you guys need to cut MSW some slack, especially when they’ve been right about virtually everything so far, including the images in the comic con footage.
I get what you mean but I have a tough time giving the guy credit when he bullies people that have the nerve to question him. I get it his sources are legit but no need to act like a dipshit, you know ?
I think the main reason MSW get so much stick is because everyone wants them to be wrong about ‘that’ Luke rumor!
Hi Jason, again… It’s not a competition.
Jason or MakingStarWars or whatever was not the first to name “Jakku” and did not know what the desert planet’s name was until everyone else did when that reddit guy first leaked it before last April’s Celebration.
No one disputes that MakingStarWars’ Indierevovler supplied concept art, blueprints, and shoot schedules are real. What is disputed how MakingStarWars interprets them and how the info is presented the most assholish manner.
I’m not even sure why anyone pays attention to concept art anyways since MillenniumFalcon.com dumped three dozen of them last fall.
Starwars7news deserves a lot of praise for outright posting their Leia, Ackbar, Nunb, and Porkins Jr images along with today’s Bullhead.
Looks different, but still Star Wars-familiar. The eyes are great, make him look real.
The Force is with this movie!
Me gusta
I would bet there’s a lot of originality in this movie we haven’t seen yet. They are keeping these things secret to surprise us when we see it.
Well said sir
He’s better looking than BB8. Beep.
Reminds me of a Selkath, actually. Hope so!
I’d like to see the helmet he wears.
The Jakku bullhead seems to be wearing the same / similar attire to what simon pegg was wearing in the BTS video.
I was thinking the same thing but the creature in the photos above is much bigger that the costume Pegg was wearing. And the colors don’t match.
Speaking of Pegg
https://youtu.be/_WDsAnDgx7E
Looks like “anonymous” *cough* EmSeeSquared *cough* wants to spoil another hostile-free thread. I’m reporting for multiple posts.
It looks so real it’s freaky.
A very cool, grounded design that’s not over the top or over designed.
Reminds me a bit of the creature work they did on the Hell Boy films.
These leaks seem purposeful and coordinated. JJ is playing with us and I like it.
What an awesome character! His mustache scruff is great.
Believe me, there is nothing coordinated.
Sure…..that’s just what someone who is coordinating leaks would want us to think…..
😉
Sweet! An alien X-wing pilot? This is starting to remind me of all the cool animal characters from Star Fox.
Now that looks bang on great that does. That wasent tooo hard was it. CGI only needed for those old skool very hard effects that couldent be achieved back in the day. Animatronic and real Sets and Real Lighting is the only way forward and was for many years. Bring back full on ILM Creature Shop and Stan Winston. I bet Directing that character and getting it look right in shots was far easyer than messing around with CGI and I bet it looks a billion times more effective and better in shots and with interactions with actors on set. Why oh why did they change such a winning formula. Looks cool I gotta say.
The only thing that will screw this movie bigtime is if they slam lense flare or fake sun flare effects over every other single shot that pops up. Please please please doooon’t shuv lense flare in the in the movie. I won’t even buy it on DVD or bother with it at the Cinema if rumours come out it’s laced with lense flare effects.
Yes you will. Because even if it is Star Wars: return of the Lense-flare you’ll still watch it and buy it, because it’s Star Wars. Suggesting anything other is just kidding yourself 🙂
No Chance would I buy the movie just because it StarWars. I don’t own the prequels on DVD just because it’s StarWars, thats insane. Yah throwing yah money away and given it away. The prequels were shite so i never purchased them. I don’t buy or pay for second rate stuff or garbage. All I am saying is No Lense glare effects. Let’s hope they don’t put that in.
Ohh you’re one of those people…. Have fun with your life and entertainment, it must be so fun and enjoyable. It’s a shame really that you’ve taken this approach towards the films, just because you didn’t like parts of them for one reason or another, but I can’t help you there 🙂 enjoy the lense flares that will inevitable be a part of the film
In the minutes of the movie until now there are almost no lensflares at all and what does “Ohh you’re one of those people…” mean? It’s always strange, when people they things like it and implicate people who aren’t fond of everything aren’t happy as if one is a better and happier being if he’s a fanboy. What a disgusting comment.
If creatures and stuff are ready made and on set u can pretty much get what you won’t to achieve on the day and not havin to wait for costly pre production CGI effects. You got it instantly pretty much in the can on the day and open to artistic freedom on the day abit more. I like what I see. Let’s hope this movie see sends a reality check across the whole industry when it comes to the use of excessive CGI.
Wonder what his helmet would look like…
The other “frumpy” alien looks similar to what Simon Pegg was wearing the the SDCC reel. Anyone else see what I’m seeing?
Speaking of Pegg
https://youtu.be/_WDsAnDgx7E
I’m pretty sure they got the name Bullhead from a bull’s head.
Viral:just curious….are you sitting on anymore pics?
This is an awesome looking creature!!!
I really have high hopes for this movie.
come on Dec 17th!!!
DIGGIIINNN
someone needs to make a Baba Joe hate club online.
But you’re the only hater.
Nice! Cool design. Hope we get some great cuts to that pilot, probably yammerin away in an alien language, or hopefully with a funny Akbar style voice!
Love what this new Star Wars film might bring to the table. Something fresh and exciting but set in the Star Wars Universe we love with that sense of style and retro cool. ARGH!!!! CANNOT WAIT!
Really hyped for this film. So much is being done right I have so much faith we’ll have something worthy of the name Star Wars.
Looks like a fatter sabula
Some of these aliens for the movie are really creepy looking.
Looks great! He’d blend right in at the cantina.
I bet all my credits this is a Bothan.
Bothans are the Mr Meeseeks of the SW universe. They’re totally fine with it.
Hahaha! You’ve just ruined Mon Mothma’s somber speech for me! All I’m gonna think is “I’ve got the information, look at meeeee!”
What do you mean, “Since the character has been already revealed and the cat is out of the bag, we’ve decided to post the real photo from the set with Bullhead as an X-Wing pilot.” — Does that mean you guys are holding out on us? That you have pictures and details but you don’t want to be the first to leak them? If so, may I ask why?
You can bet that all the sites are holding back information. They want to attract clicks, so they reveal stuff drop by drop until the movie hits the cinemas.
So there are bulls in the Star Wars galaxy too?
Interesting.
So are squids and walruses, various earthly lizards and snakes (Dagobah). Not to mention humans and hell. It’s all so of this world isn’t it?? Wait, duh, it is of this world!
The star wars universe is very `biped`. Seems the majority of its alien life is `biped`. Or Bipedalism. The star wars creators could have thought out a little more how life could have evolved on different planets, under different conditions. Take avatar for example, the alien life has multiple limbs, some have six limbs and more varied array of life forms.
In star wars the golden rule is Bipedalism.
For what it is worth some believe that being bipedal encourages the development of advanced intelligence because it leaves the upper limbs free for manipulating tools and things. 🙂
I definitely know what you mean, but the reason for that is the same as why there’s so many “rubber forehead aliens” in Star Trek – it’s easier for human actors to portray them, without resorting to CGI.
Yes that is true. Especially in the OT Lucas had to keep himself from going too crazy with alien designs because the technology just wasn’t there. Look at how difficult Jabba was to pull off in ROTJ. 🙂
Well, the actors are one thing but in the end the designs do make more sense than a space amoebia.
@Tauntaun
Jabba can’t be more hard than the other aliens that came before him (like Yoda), so the Tauntaun. Really crazy stuff isn’t that hard to make but it is very alien for the viewers and I would say, that it has to be done really well or they don’t like it. So it was less a thing of technology but the risk, that people wouldn’t like it.
I mean, it’s either that, or everyone starts complaining about CGI…
My girlfriend is Bi, and I’m cool with it.
And nothing of value was lost.
(Don’t feed the trolls, kiddos.)
I was guilty of that. My apologies sir.
Apology accepted…
…Captain Needa.
C’mon, it makes things more entertaining around here lol. As you can tell, there’s not much to talk about here on matters regarding TFA, other than some minor scant reports like this one, so all this arguing and bickering helps in passing the time 😉
Another thing: watch out before the “why are you censoring us” crowd comes and cries foul on you deleting people’s comments…
Red Bulll standing by
…gives you (X-) Wings…
This:
http://www.gamesetwatch.com/laststarfighter9.jpg
or this:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/81/1292436508_4.jpg
Oooooo that still from Space Precinct hurts. He looks identical! But I still love the Bull head design. Glad it’s getting a home in a more popular universe!
Is it not coincidental that the leaked concept image came out days before this real thing? Either somebody at Star Wars is “leaking” these things shortly after Ep 7 news reports on them…or somebody at Star Wars started this website in the first place to “control” what was leaked from the get go.
I have to say, I kind of liked the concept art better.
That said;
the creature effects on this dude are spot on.
He really looks like a living being.
Looking at that pic, it’s easy to forget that his eyes are hidden between his nostrils. I just naturally look up at the plastic eyes 6 inches above.
Really nice work.
[Note, I would be saying the same thing if this were done with CG, so save your typing.]
Practical effects in abundance. Now, let’s hope that it’s a solid movie.
I. Can’t. Fucking. Wait.
For now, the count is: 2 mo-cap characters and n-hundred practical creatures. I’m glad about this, but… am I the only one curious to see how the mo-cap will work? With all of this practical work, the CGI creatures have to be some kind of hyper-realistic stuff!
Maybe from same planet as Ackbar??
I’m really happy with the way that the characters in this movie are coming to life. Based on what we’ve seen so far, looks like the special effects department really have their act together in giving life to the film (Insert obligatory CGI-prequel comment here)
Also, 149 days til TFA premier!
Was expecting CGI,this looks great,can’t wait for the action fig.
cool. more duros and rodians
Jiminy Cricket!
I heard a whisper the they are going to use a load practical sets and effects in TFA! Anyone else heard this rumour?
Not a big fan of this. Not very realistic at all.
I apologize if I offended any fictitious Star Wars alien races or real life alien races who may be scanning this board.
Nice to see an Alien Rebel pilot!! Very rare, aside from Chewie, Mon Calamari (deleted scene) and Nien Numb, I can’t think of any others. ?
Very cool