The stormtrooper is the most basic unit of cannon fodder in the Empire, and as such, they don’t get to look cool; bright white armor, helmets that obviously obscure their vision, and orange shoulder pads. But apparently, in the intervening thirty years, the Empire has hired a stylist.
The images come courtesy of Jay Carlson of Indie Revolver:
First glimpse of the @starwars #EpisodeVII Stormtrooper & Snowtrooper (via @IndieRevolver)! The future of the #501st! pic.twitter.com/Zycnl5Q4P2
— 501st Legion (@501stLegion) August 15, 2014
Also someone on a prop forum who claims to have seen a lot of production designs posted a photo that looks very similar. So either these are our new stormtroopers, or there’s a props ninja out there really good at fooling us all.
It’s a good look, actually, a bit like Jony Ive was unleashed on the stormtroopers after a long consultation with Ralph McQuarrie. We did a clumsy Photoshop with the Sideshow Collectibles version of the classic Stormtrooper to give you a side by side look:
As you can see, if these are legit, the classic design has gotten streamlined. You can even click a faceshield over it that looks a bit like a gas mask. It doesn’t tell us a lot about the plot, but it is interesting, and it does point to what the production design is trying to achieve. Also, it’ll look pretty good posterized on a t-shirt, which is also very important.