PHOTOS: Inside the new Star Wars exhibition in London that shows you how the characters were developed

There are many beautiful pieces of concept art throughout the exhibition.

But the star exhibits are the original costumes. Here's bounty hunter Boba Fett, a First Order stormtrooper, and an original stormtrooper.

Here's BB-8 from "The Force Awakens."

It's tricky to take a good photo of C-3PO because he's so shiny.

You may have spotted this tiny mouse droid in the original Star Wars trilogy.

There are no replicas in the exhibition, so you get to see the original props that were used in the movies. Here are some podracers from "The Phantom Menace.'

These fascinating sketches show how residents of the Mos Eisley cantina were designed.

There's a game you're encouraged to play throughout the exhibition. You use a special bracelet to build a character in the Star Wars universe. (It gets annoying quickly.)

Here's a question:

I had three choices. I chose "A" because it seemed like the best option. Nothing happened, it just saved my choice.

Some early designs for Luke Skywalker had him as a female character, but that was quickly abandoned.

There's a glass case filled with early mockups of Jar Jar Binks from "The Phantom Menace."

These early Jar Jar Binks designs make him look like a cartoon character.

Jar Jar Binks was nearly fat and green like Shrek.

Here's the Midi-chlorian microscope from "The Phantom Menace" and a Jedi commlink.

Han Solo and Chewbacca originally looked very different.

Chewbacca was a scary-looking space alien.

This Chewbacca sketch is much more like the final character, although he does look like a friendly space monkey here.

These three impressive Padmé Amidala costumes get their own display.

Here's a full Anakin Skywalker costume from the third prequel. Don't get too close, though, as you can set off an alarm — like I did.

Yoda started life as a terrifying space gnome.

These early designs for Yoda and his home are a bit closer to the final character.

I'm not ashamed to say that coming face to face with a life-size Yoda was slightly emotional.

Jabba the Hutt started life as a green-skinned alien with a moustache.

His look gradually evolved to a hulking green alien.

He wasn't always green, though. This concept art shows him in pink and white.

One of the weirdest items in the exhibition is a pair of Jabba the Hutt's eyes.

Every background character was sketched out, even this "insect droid" who plays a slots machine. He made it into "Return of the Jedi".

Max Rebo was the bandleader of the group of performers in Jabba's palace. Here's an early sketch of him playing "jizz" music on his nalargon (yes, really).

A giant glass case is filled with spaceships from the original trilogy. It's a huge exhibit.

This original snowspeeder model includes tiny pilots. Cute!

There's a slight problem with the spaceship display, though. Boba Fett's ship Slave I is displayed as if it's flying, but the ship is horizontal as if stationary. The little Boba Fett inside is facing straight up, too, making it obvious that it's been displayed wrong.

There's a big model of the Millennium Falcon, too. It looks very impressive and detailed when you see it up close.

There's a big model of Han Solo in carbonite.

Princess Leia's famous gold bikini from the Jabba's sail barge scene is here.

These outfit sketches for Owen and Beru Lars are very close to the final, on-screen outfits.

Here are some original Chewbacca, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Lando Calrissian costumes.

The Lando Calrissian costume included this fancy wrist link.

Tusken Raiders are really tall when you come face to face with them.

Ever wondered what is under a jawa's hood? Some black fabric and two eyes.

Here's a close look at a jawa's gun. It doesn't look very high-tech.

Everything in the Star Wars universe was sketched out and planned in advance.

This handy chart showcases the speeds of different spaceships.

There are lots of different designs of rebel pilot helmets.

Here's what you see as you enter the final gallery of the exhibition.

This early concept art for the Emperor makes him look like a predator from the 1987 movie "Predator". There's also an interesting doodle in the bottom-left corner — is that a spaceship?

Here are some more early designs for the Emperor. The illustration on the right shows an early version of his force lightning.

This is one of the models for what is beneath the sloped part of Darth Vader's helmet.

Darth Vader is the star attraction of the entire exhibition, and the final thing you see before the exit.

Here's how my custom character turned out. It gave me a beard for some reason.

Of course, once you've left the exhibition, you get to see the gift shop. There's an expensive Star Wars dinner set.

And these classy piggy banks.