Intercept and capture the Death Star design team! https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Oh no! In 1994, LucasArts and Totally Games allow us to DESTROY many Y-Wings. It's so sad.

In 1995, 12 years after Return of the Jedi, the Y-Wing is back in live-action! Well, sort of. It was a 3D model (from this era). But there is live-action scenes somewhere, directed by Hal Barwood. It was Rebel Assault II. Y-Wing? Action! https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Oh yes, there are some Y-Wings on the PC & PlayStation cover arts, by Bill Eaken and Richard Green. 😍 Wait, what, who shot the Y!

Storyboard by Paul Topolos. Paul became later lead artist on Rogue LEader (2001), worked on titan A.E. (2000), then joined @ILMVFX (Attack of the Clones) and @Pixar Pixar (Wall-E, Up).

One last thing for this game: did you pay attention? Hal Barwood, who directed Rebel Assault II's live-action scenes... You saw his name before. In this thread. Two decades sooner. That's what I call "a full circle" https://x.com/spaceshipsporn/s...

For the youngest, the 3D cutscenes of RA2 (1995) could appear ugly. But it was so great, back then. It was no longer even models! What a technological leap. Same for live-action scenes: the first for a decade! Here @JamisonJ0nes as Rookie One & Hal Barwood on the set:

In 1996, the BTL-S3 Y-wing starfighter is back for an important part of Shadows of the Empire, the Lucasfilm multimedia project (video game, book, comics, soundtrack...) Half of the Bothan Y-Wing Blue Squadron were destroyed on an attack on the Suprosa. You know, these bothans.

@DarkHorseComics 's Shadows book was written by John Wagner and illustrated by Kilian Plunkett (later SW Rebels art director). Since then, we think the Bothans mentioned in Return of the Jedi stole the plans of the DS2. This is not the case in the current canon.

In 1997, Y-Wings are more beautiful than ever thanks to the Special Edition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

In 1998, Y-Wing join Rogue Squadron (Factor 5/LucasArts). https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

First on-screen appearance of the BTL-A4 LP "Longprobe", in SW Rebellion (Coolhand/LucasArts, 1998), a reconnaissance and scouting variant. It will be back in Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed (2004). And that's all. Yes, that's 2 designs, for 2 games.

In 1999 (as in Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, 1997), you can fly a Y-Wing again. And this game by Totally Games/LucasArts crosses over with Shadows of the Empire, so you can play the attack on the Suprosa. Many bothans died again. And Dash says hi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

The Prequels Era. The eyes are mainly turned to the past of this universe, but the ships of the original trilogy are not totally forgotten. https://x.com/stabbed_jawa/sta...

And then comes 2005. Star Wars is over. Farewell. Unless George Lucas oversees the production of a new TV series...

In september 2008, a few days before the broadcast of The Clone Wars 3D series, the BTL-B Y-wing starfighter is introduced in "The Clone Wars: Shipyards of Doom" comic book, written by Henry Gilroy and published by @DarkHorseComics

In october 3, The Clone Wars: Procedure, a six-page @starwars webcomic written by @pablohidalgo , tells how Anakin obtained many new BTL-B Y-wing starfighters. This story led into an episode in Season One of The Clone Wars...

..."Shadow of Malevolence," third episode of the series, written by @stevenmelching From now on, this Y-Wing BTL-B will appear in about twenty episodes of the series.

Why this new model? You have to remember what Joe Johnston said over 30 years ago. 😏 We're now "once", a few decades before the Death Star attack! Before the Dark Times. https://x.com/spaceshipsporn/s...

For The Clone Wars, Russell Chong oversaw the creation of this new design. "The Y-wing was a really fun project, bringing it back fully faired. We back-engineered the Y-wing and turned it back into a bomber." (https://archive.is/os3EO)

Russell Chong: "I took the actual model of the Y-wing from the files at Lucasfilm, and I overlaid our new version. We revitalized the bubble turret that Colin Cantwell and Ralph McQuarrie had developed. All the body panels are very much the same as the original Y-wing."

"I didn't want to use the actual bubble turret with the single laser cannon in the original Ralph McQuarrie illustration because it was too bulky and interrupted the sleek lines of the ship so I opted for a more aerodynamic design similar to the WWII B-17 and B-25 top turret."

Republic Y-Wing texture variant, art by Kilian Plunkett (illustrator of the Shadows of The Empire comics, in 1996, as we saw above!)

One last BTL-B, by @JeffCarlisleArt for a "Folded Flyers" book:

Soon, in 2012, Disney will buy Lucasfilm. This will initiate the last part of this story. Time for a card art (X-Wing Miniatures: Most Wanted expansion pack) by Leonid Kozienko.

Forgot a TCW video. Here is the BTL-B in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

And now, ladies and gentleman, let's start the first part of the last part. In 2013, TCW is canceled, or "winding down" as they said (for a few years...) and Dave Finoli and his Lucasfilm Animation team begin work on SW Rebels. A series broadcast on @DisneyXD XD from autumn 2014.

2015: There is no Y-wing in The Force Awakens. However, thanks to the excellent Art of The Force Awakens written by @PhilSzostak , we can see the wreckage of a Y-Wing in Kira (Rey)'s garage, in a concept art by Luis Carrasco (May 2013).

Or in April 2013 (way before the script was finished), this Kira's ship made of starfighters parts. Art by Yanick Dusseault.

In june 2013, a Y-Wing was parked in a Rebel base. Art by Ryan Church.

At last, in July 2014 (the film was being shot), during the development of the Resistance transport ship, the design of the Y-Wing was sometimes mentioned. As can be seen in these production drawings by Vincent Jenkins and Thom Tenery. A Y-Wing as retro as possible.

But the Resistance transport ship will eventually look like a Chinook helicopter. (Whose cockpit comes from a repurposed B-wing Mark II: https://x.com/spaceshipsporn/s...

Finally, there is no Y-Wing in SW7. But the U-Wing from One (2016) partially takes up the idea of a transport ship close to a Y-Wing. Now back to Rebels.

Season 3 (2016) takes place two years before the events of A New Hope (1977). It is therefore time to introduce the BTL-A4 in the one-hour long premiere, Steps Into Shadow, written by @stevenmelching & @MattMichnovetz , with @JustinRidgeArt as the supervising director.

First a question: @stevenmelching , you wrote the episodes introducing the Y-Wings in The Clone Wars and Rebels. Is it an incredible coincidence? Or do you like this ship as much as we do? 😏

In short, our heroes manage to steal 5 Y-Wings, which they will then entrust to the rebel cell of General Dodonna (seen in Rogue One and A New Hope). Ships that will serve a lot in the rest of the story...

Concept art by @screamingzen & Pat Presley. Presley: "The assignment was to find a bridge between the Russell Chong version from TCW and the Johnston/Cantwell/RMQ version from the Original Trilogy as well as refit it for an animated show". (https://www.artstation.com/art...

Later, the new Gold Squadron will be present when Mon Mothma announces the official formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic ("Secret Cargo"). Green Squadron Y-Wings will take part in the Battle of Atollon ("Zero Hour").We are getting closer to the events of the movies.

And then: december 2016. Rogue One. The Battle of Scarif. Never have the Y-Wings performed so well, bombarding Star Destroyers (which will allow to steal the famous Death Star plans later).

The Y-Wings used proton bombs, which is a reference to the bombs from the animated series. To give the digital ships a model feel, @ILMVFX VFX supervisor John Knoll (who pitched this story for the Underworld canceled TV series, then this movie) came up with an ingenious plan.