Star Wars: 10 Secrets Of The Stormtrooper You Didn't Know
3. They Were Designed To Look Like "Living Skeletons"
Returning to that OG trooper for this next entry, it's time to look at the secret truth behind what actually went into the design of that instantly iconic armour.
Simple yet stylish, the white-plating and ominous masks with black eye sockets very much had folks feeling intimidated when the squad first blasted into fans' lives - and onto the Tantive IV corvette - during the opening stages of 1977's Star Wars.
They'd go on to largely become little more than Rebel and Ewok target practise down the road, of course. But for a minute there, people were royally spooked.
That was likely the sort of initial reaction George Lucas was looking for when he asked his team to create soldiers that looked like "living skeletons" for that first movie, with Lucasfilm Vice President Doug Chiang explaining to Wired that the helmet in particular was made to look like a "stylised skull."
The brilliant Ralph McQuarrie masterfully finding a way to take that skeleton idea and transform it into something that looked somewhat mechanical led to the creation of yet another Star Wars icon, with those skull-mets being at the centre of many a legendary moment in the years to come - including being played by some bloodthirsty teddy bears.