A History of 'Star Wars' in 10 Objects

Tracing a History of 'Star Wars' in Objects

Droids, weapons, ships of all sizes, the Star Wars universe is stuffed with... stuff. (One propmaster's challenge is some toy seller's dream.) Items that didn't make our list include: the Death Star, Darth Maul's double lightsaber, Anakin's podracer. Leia's bikini did, even if you're unlikely to see it in The Force Awakens. But look for many of these.

In celebration of the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens, EW is giving fans an inside look at the franchise in The Ultimate Guide to Star Wars. A celebration of the entire beloved franchise, this compendium features rarely seen production and cast photos from all the movies in the series; essays on Ralph McQuarrie, the founding of George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, director Irvin Kershner, and more; as well as exclusive art and surprising reveals from The Force Awakens. The gallery ahead is an excerpt from the heavily illustrated collector’s edition. EW’s The Ultimate Guide to Star Wars is in stores and newsstands Friday, Dec. 18, or an ebook edition is available for order online on iTunes and Amazon.

Boba Fett's Jetpack

The first Mandalorian seen in the films, Boba Fett wears tricked-out armor that includes a flamethrower, jetpack, concussion rocket launcher, and fiber-cord whip.

The Millennium Falcon

The "fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy," lost by Lando to Han Solo in a game of sabacc, it helped destroy not one but two Death Stars. Here, the miniature Falcon that was used in The Empire Strikes Back to attach to the Star Destroyer is held next to the larger model used for the asteroid-belt scenes.

The Emperor's Throne

Emperor Palpatine taunted Luke in Return of the Jedi from the comfort of his hugely oversize command chair. (Not seen: the special shuttle sent ahead of his arrival to orchestrate the scene.) His throne made a second appearance in Revenge of the Sith.

Darth Vader's Helmet

It is the face of evil. The all-black visage of the Sith Lord conveys the Dark Side — literally — along with the detached emptiness of a fallen Jedi. This iconic helmet appears in Revenge of the Sith, the original trilogy, and now in the sequels: The charred helmet was spotted in the hands of villain Kylo Ren in the trailer.

Leia's Gold Bikini

You have to hand it to Jabba the Hutt when it comes to matters of fashion for putting prisoner Leia in this iconic Tatooine getup. Here, Carrie Fisher frolics on the beach for a 1983 Rolling Stone magazine shoot.

TIE Fighter

The screech of an approaching TIE fighter — created by sound designer Ben Burtt mixing an elephant call and cars driving on wet roads — is as iconic and fearsome as the hum of a lightsaber.

R2-D2

The Swiss army knife of droids, R2-D2 has unlimited tools and surprises at its disposal, including those rocket boosters seen in the prequels. Without R2-D2 and his delivery of Princess Leia's desperate message to Obi-Wan, Luke might still be on Tatooine looking for those power converters.

Stormtrooper Armor

The foot soldiers of the Empire had modified uniforms for Hoth and Endor. The classic helmet was sculpted by puppeteer and scenic artist Nick Pemberton, and vacuum-formed in plastic by Andrew Ainsworth. The Force Awakens builds the original armor into a new look, which designer Michael Kaplan said was inspired by Apple. "It was more of a simplification, almost like, 'What would Apple do?'"

Anakin's Lightsaber

Taken from Anakin by Obi-Wan after their battle in Revenge of the Sith, the Jedi Master gifted Luke with the weapon in A New Hope. And then it was dramatically lost in The Empire Strikes Back, along with Luke's hand, in a light-saber duel with Vader himself. Spotted in the trailer for The Force Awakens, it may soon find a third Master.

Han Solo's Blaster

While Obi-Wan may consider a blaster to be "uncivilized," it's done the trick just fine for Corellian smuggler Solo. Propmakers built the blaster on a real gun, the German semiautomatic pistol Mauser C96.