At this year's Disney D23 Expo in Anaheim, California on August 23, 2019, Lucasfilm brought a squadron of Stormtroopers spanning 40 years of sci-fi adventures in a Star Wars galaxy far, far away.
Stormtrooper uniforms old and new from Star Wars
In addition to these
Stormtrooper armours which spanned from
A New Hope to the forthcoming
The Rise of Skywalker, the expo also had
costumes from The Mandalorian on display, the first ever live-action
Star Wars television series debuting soon on the
Disney+ streaming platform.
Sith Trooper costume
from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
I thought I'd start by sharing the striking and ominously-titled
'Sith Trooper' costume from the upcoming
The Rise of Skywalker movie. It's amazing what a colour can do to make a suit of armour more menacing (much like the
Praetorian Guards of
'Supreme Leader Snoke'), especially as these
First Order troopers are said to harness the power of a dark and ancient legacy.
Michael Kaplan was
Costume Designer on this latest iteration of red
Stormtrooper.
First Order Jet Trooper costume
from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Another new
First Order armour making its debut in the ninth
Star Wars movie in there
Skywalker saga is this
'Jet Trooper' costume. Designed by
Michael Kaplan, these specialised
Stormtroopers can soar into battle with the use of rocket packs.
Captain Phasma costume worn by Gwendoline Christie
in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi
'Captain Phasma's' armour is another great example of how a different chrome finish can give a
Stormtrooper a radically different look, whilst still resembling the iconic foot-soldiers of the
Empire.
Looking more like a
Cylon from Battlestar Galactica, Michael Kaplan designed
Gwendoline Christie's female
Captain costume (which hasn't been made to look any more feminine) with her distinctive shiny salvaged chromium armour and cape.
Make sure you also take a closer look at
Captain Phasma's costume when it was previously on display.
First Order Stormtrooper costume from Star Wars
The
First Order Stormtrooper costume with its modified helmet design first made its debut in
The Force Awakens and was designed by
Michael Kaplan and you can take a closer look at this and other
Stormtrooper armours from the new films.
First Order TIE Fighter pilot costume from Star Wars
The
First Order TIE Fighter pilot costume featuring in
The Force Awakens onwards is also designed by
Michael Kaplan.
Scout Trooper costume from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
The
Empire's 'Scout Trooper' costume from
Return of the Jedi was always one of my favourites, especially as they got to ride cool speeder bikes. Their lighter armoured look allowed the soldiers to move quicker and adapt to a range of environments compared to other classic
Imperial Stormtroopers. This
Star Wars costume was designed by
Aggie Guerard Rodgers and
Nilo Rodis-Jamero.
Imperial TIE Fighter pilot costume from Star Wars
I always found the
Imperial TIE Fighter pilot costumes really menacing. Maybe it was the close-up shots of their black helmets with the frowns and all the tubes that made them look so sinister.
John Mollo was
Costume Designer on the iconic pilot costume, although no matter how cool they looked it didn't stop them from being shot out of the sky with seeming ease.
Imperial Stormtrooper costume from Star Wars
You really can't beat the iconic look of the
Imperial Stormtrooper costume designed by
John Mollo and first appearing in 1977's
A New Hope.
Shoretrooper costume from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
In the prequel to
A New Hope, we learned how the rebels had retrieved the
Death Star plans courtesy of a plucky band in
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
This
'Shoretrooper' costume designed by
Glyn Dillon and
David Crossman were worn by special troops who patrolled the beaches and bunkers of the top secret
Imperial military facility on
Scarif.
Imperial Death Trooper costume
from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One also introduced us to
'Imperial Death Trooper' costumes, also designed by
Glyn Dillon and
David Crossman. These dark and deadly elite soldiers of
Imperial Intelligence served as bodyguards and enforcers for
'Director Krennic' of the
Empire's Advanced Weapons Research division.
If you like this retrospective and glimpse at the future of
Stormtroopers, make sure you check out all these other
costumes and props from the Star Wars universe on display.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker movie poster
