Colin Cantwell, Original Designer of the X-Wing and Death Star Models, Dies at 90

Colin Cantwell, the concept artist who worked on the original Star Wars back in 1977, has died at 90 years old. His partner of 24 years, Sierra Dall, confirmed the news on the artist’s website (via Fantha Tracks). Among his many iconic designs, Cantwell is credited for coming up with the models for the X-Wing, the A-Wing, the TIE fighter, the Star Destroyer, and the Death Star. He also worked on the first iteration of the ship that would go on to become the Millennium Falcon. His design for that ship, though, would become the Blockade Runner we saw in the opening scene of the original movie.

 

While not very extensive, his filmography also includes iconic projects like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and his first credit ever, 2001: A Space Odyssey, for which he did special photographic effects. While A New Hope is the only Star Wars movie he worked on, it’s very obvious that his work heavily inspired every ship model that came after, and his impact on the Star Wars legacy is nothing short of immortal.

 

During his youth, Cantwell was diagnosed with tuberculosis and a partial retinal detachment. He revealed how he was cured during a “Ask Me Anything” event on Reddit in 2016:

 

“The cure was to confine me to a dark room with a heavy vest across my chest to prevent coughing fits. I spent nearly TWO YEARS of my childhood immobilized in this dark room. Suffice to say, nothing else could slow me down after that!”

 

Colin Cantwell was tasked by George Lucas himself with designing the Death Star, and he was the one who came up with the trench where Luke’s heroic moment in the movie would take place. In that Reddit AMA, he said the following about how he came up with the idea of the trench:

 

“George Lucas gave me the project of designing a ‘Death Star’. I didn’t originally plan for the Death Star to have a trench, but when I was working with the mold, I noticed the two halves had shrunk at the point where they met across the middle. It would have taken a week of work just to fill and sand and re-fill this depression. So, to save me the labor, I went to George and suggested a trench. He liked the idea so much that it became one of the most iconic moments in the film!”

 

He is survived by his partner, Sierra Dall. Our deepest condolences to his friends and family. May the Force be with him.

 

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Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.

Miguel Fernandez

Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.

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