The ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Stormtroopers Were Inspired by Apple

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is introducing a whole new set of characters for the upcoming trilogy, including Finn, Rey, Kylo Ren and, most importantly, BB-8. It’s also bringing back some old favorites like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and the Stormtroopers. Because the movie takes place 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, the looks for the new characters needed to be updated. We know Luke has a bushy new beard, Han Solo has visibly aged and the Stormtroopers have gotten a new look. But instead of looking older, the Stormtroopers look brand new, and that wasn’t an accident. The new Star Wars costume designer says they were created to look like they were designed by Apple.

Michael Kaplan, who worked with J.J. Abrams on the previous two Star Trek movies, spoke to Vanity Fair in their big Star Wars cover issue about the design of the new Force Awakens stormtroopers.

With the stormtroopers it was more of a simplification, almost like, “What would Apple do?” J.J. wanted them to look like stormtroopers at a glance but also be different enough to kind of wow people and get them excited about the new design [...] Slicked back and very hard-lined, yeah. The Nazi thing was always there with the Empire.

So, Apple meets Nazi? Sounds about right.

This is not the first we've heard about Apple’s inspiration on The Force Awakens. Previously, Jony Ivy, the Senior Vice President of Design at Apple, revealed some of the feedback he gave to Abrams when asked for some input on the film’s new lightsabers.

I thought it would be interesting if it were less precise, and just a little bit more spitty [...] more analog and more primitive, and I think, in that way, somehow more ominous.

J.J. Abrams is a known Apple fan (he was one of the first to have an Apple Watch), so it’s not entirely surprising he’s used their designs both overtly and subtly in The Force Awakens. It will be interesting to see what, if any, additional ways the company may have inspired the film.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in theaters on December 18.