50 Most Iconic Star Wars Costumes

From The Force Awakens (2015). Image via Lucasfilm/Disney.

8. Stormtroopers

Stormtroopers, scout troopers, clone troopers, snowtroopers, flametroopers, TIE pilots, and more are all wrapped up here in this entry. In-universe, clone troops of the prequel trilogy are forerunners of the Imperial army, and that’s borne out in their design (Dressing a Galaxy 71). The visor shapes of clone troops look more like Jango and Boba Fett’s, and since Jango provided the source DNA, that only makes sense.

Now, to get to the more familiar iteration, the original trilogy stormtrooper. George Lucas wanted multiple costumes for different members of the military, but the most recognizable would be the one we see the most: your everyday trooper, faceless, barely different from the one next to him (85).

No wonder TFA brought stormtroopers back to the First Order, just updating the helmet and armor designs slightly. The helmets, especially, have a different look than the original trilogy, creating a smooth shape instead of the chevron-shaped mouth lines. However, you’ll notice something here: the stormtroopers are all a different height and have slightly different body types. Leia does ask the disguised Luke if he’s a little short for a stormtrooper in ANH, but the difference in TFA is stark.

In other words, the First Order doesn’t have clones anymore, and that’s how we get Finn (and Captain Phasma).