Star Wars: 10 Secrets Behind X-Wings You Need To Know
1. The X-Wing's Designer Worked For NASA
One of the reasons Star Wars stood out amongst other sci-fi films was how every vehicle, weapon, and creature had a distinctive design. Even if you've never seen Star Wars, you can instantly recognise the X-Wing, TIE Fighter, or the Millennium Falcon due to their unique look.
But the person who helped design most of these vessels wasn't George Lucas - it was Colin Cantwell. Cantwell had a vast knowledge of how space vehicles were designed since he worked for NASA during the 1960s. In fact, he was the person who helped Walter Cronkite narrate the moon landing during the Apollo 11 mission.
When Lucas learned Cantwell was the conceptual artist for 2001: A Space Odyssey, he was hired as the visual designer for Star Wars. Using his knowledge of automobiles, Cantwell created many vessels including the Star Destroyer, the Sandcrawler, the land speeder, the Y-Wing, and the X-Wing.
Despite his legacy, Cantwell never won a single award for his work. In fact, he was only nominated for one award and it wasn't even for Star Wars! (He was BAFTA-nominated for WarGames.) Nevertheless, Cantwell is known amongst die-hard Star Wars fans for creating among the coolest looking vehicles in movie history.