Possible ‘Episode VII’ Concept Art: Troopers and Sabers

Yesterday the valves on the S.S. Star Wars once again leaked concept art deep into the sea of pop culture. Quickly dispersing potential concept art featuring both new stormtrooper designs and a potential lightsaber duel across the Inter-Nets. I mean we sort of figured there would be a lightsaber duel in a Star Wars movie, but the art is all sorts of spoilerish. So if you’re a Spoiler Slut like me, check out the goodies post-break.

Indie Revolver:

As exciting as pictures of a real-life Falcon constructed at full scale have been, seeing it in a story context hovering over a lightsaber battle in a forest is magical – even just in illustration. The tall, slender figure is instantly reminiscent of Vader, though it could easily represent the new hooded cyborg or Lupita Nyong’o’s rumored sith villain. Dare we hope that it’s Luke wielding the green saber? The person in the foreground taking aim at the confrontation would either be a good guy or a bounty hunter by every Star Wars metric – lots of texture in the costuming, rag tag gear strapped on everywhere, and operating alone (or with one friend, who appears to be busy) rather than as part of a larger force.

Indie Revolver:

For months, there have been reports of chromed stormtroopers in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII, but those closest to the production have been extremely tight-lipped in regards to this new variant. We’re finally seeing our first glimpses of this new armor’s look:

I’d been worried that the chrome armor was going to be a clear gimmick, but as it turns out this is the most imposing of the new stormtrooper designs we’ve seen.

It’s refreshing to see that he’s not simply a shiny black metal version of the standard-issue Episode VII Stormtrooper. While the overall contours are again in line with the classic design, this helmet has clearly evolved on a different path.

Rather than squared tubes along the cheeks, the bottom of this helmet flares out into a fairly sharp-edged arc. Where those contours end at the front of the helmet, there does not appear to be an aerator or vent on either side.

Once again, we see the appearance of a connected band across the eyes. This is a complex shape, flaring downward at the cheeks and back up towards the temples at the ends.

There’s a seam edge similar to the Episode VII TIE pilots and Forest/Snowtroopers along the mouth. If any of these faceplates are actually removed in the film, it will be interesting to see if they are a window to the character’s face or an access panel for maintenance.