Have you ever walked by an automatic door and pretended to use the Force to open it? Has an empty wrapping paper tube at Christmas ever suddenly become the weapon of a Tusken Raider? Have you ever pretended to be holding a lightsaber when you were really holding a flashlight? The Star Wars Saga has inspired fans to try to become one of its many characters for generations, and now with the power of cosplay, they’ve only gotten more advanced with their efforts.
Forget holding cinnamon buns to the side of your head and pretending to be Princess Leia - this is painstakingly recreating her mother’s wardrobe from The Phantom Menace down to the last hand-stitched bead. This is getting fellow fans to help you recreate the hulking silhouette of an Imperial Walker, or ingenious ways to transform yourself into General Grievous. All of these Star Wars cosplays should be next to impossible, but the force is with these 10 entries!
RANCOR
Making its premier at the 2015 Comic Con, this rancor cosplay brings Jabba’s gargantuan monster to life. In Return of the Jedi, the rancor was created using some masterful puppetry and camera angles, but this cosplay by Frank Ippolito and his talented crew at ModelSpace USA has managed to make it into something we’d be afraid to run into beneath Jabba’s palace.
According to Ippolito, it took three weeks to put together, using highly detailed photos from the production team behind Episode VI. It was created using a mixture of sculpted foam, molds, and rubber cement paint. The eyes are solid, so the operator inside sees via a luminar camera installed inside the nostrils.
TAUNTAUN
Coming across this beast at MCM Comicon Liverpool, you might just think you’ve wandered onto the set of The Empire Strikes Back. Created by the husband and wife team behind robbo37, this incredibly realistic tauntaun perfectly captures the ornery beasts from Episode V down to every exact detail.
Hannah appears dressed like Han Solo on the ice planet of Hoth, where tauntauns were used as beasts of burden and for transportation. When Luke Skywalker goes missing in the frozen wastelands, Han takes his tauntaun out to look for him in polar gear. Her legs are inside the tauntaun operating its legs, allowing her to move around the con floor realistically. If she’s going for hyper-realism, does it smell bad too?
GENERAL GRIEVOUS
Imagine seeing this hulking monstrosity stalking the halls of the MCM Comicon Liverpool, or appearing at the “The Return of the Garrison"event for Star Wars weekend at the National Space Centre. Fans were in for a treat at both events when they encountered this General Grievous cosplay that looked like it had wondered out of the prop department of Lucasfilm.
The cosplayer is part of the UK Garrison, the UK Section of the famous 501st Legion of Star Wars cosplayers officially licensed by Lucasfilm to sport scene-accurate cosplays (primarily Empire and First Order related). The cosplayer was able to use Grievous’s cape to conceal himself, and attach rods from his shoes to the bottom of Grievous’s metal legs to give the illusion Grievous is walking on them. The cosplayer also has a voice modulator to sound like Grievous, bad cold and all.
AT-AT
Try not saying “pew pew” while you’re lumbering around in this massive AT-AT cosplay! This AT-AT was featured at the Manchester Comic Con in 2014, and consists of two cosplayers inside, one to operate the front legs, and one to operate the back legs, a take on the old horse costume for Halloween.
Ickeybob provided the front leg action, and explained that the whole cosplay took about an hour to set up, and ten minutes to climb inside. He would operate the walker with a partner for about an hour at a time, then they would take a break. Though it’s difficult to see, there are actually 2 AT-AT driver figures in the cockpit, and a Luke Skywalker dangling from the belly on a harpoon cable!
DEWBACK PATROL
Dewbacks weren’t just the brainchildren of George Lucas for his 1997 Special Edition release of A New Hope. They existed in the 1977 version, albeit only in silhouette. He wanted the giant leathery reptile mounts to get more screen time but didn’t have the budget until two decades later, when they’d be part of the mounted sandtrooper patrol sent to retrieve C-3PO and R2-D2.
To operate the massive suit, two cosplayers have to be inside it, with one operating the back legs, and one operating the front legs. It walks in a patrol of several other sandtroopers who can help guide the cosplayers inside. The mounted trooper is in fact a mannequin, which is for the best in case the dewback gets ornery.
ASAJJ VENTRESS
First appearing in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the cunning assassin Asajj Ventress left a stark impression as not only a ruthless warrior of the Dark Side, but a powerful female character in the Star Wars Universe. She was Count Dooku’s apprentice and a skilled lightsaber combatant, though she could never be a true Sith as long as he served Darth Sidious.
This incredible cosplay by MissSinisterCosplay perfectly captures the cool, calm, and collected threat that is Ventress. She fought both Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Clone Wars, wielding her twin pistol-grip red-bladed lightsabers. She remains a fan favorite due to her unique aesthetic and deadly combat skills.
QUEEN AMIDALA (INVASION)
Every single outfit that Natalie Portman wore in Episode I: The Phantom Menace as Queen Amidala was a work of art. Her costumes were hand-embroidered by designers working out of a warehouse in London near the studios, and took months to create. Each represented a different phase of her rule, her usurpation of power, and her eventual reclamation.
This beautiful depiction of Amidala, in the black and gold gown she wore at the start of the Trade Federation invasion of her home planet of Naboo, has been faithfully recreated by cosplayer Kaori-prod. She wore it for the London Comicon in 2013.
CAD BANE
This cosplay becomes nearly impossible when you consider that the character it depicts doesn’t exist in any viewable material. Cad Bane was a bounty hunting peer of Boba Fett’s, who was supposed to have a run-in with in Star Wars: The Clone Wars but the episode never got aired. He was going to be the space gunslinger that gave Fett the prominent dent in his helmet.
Considering there isn’t that much reference material out there on Cad Bane besides some choppy production footage and storyboards, this cosplay by Blizzardterrak is worth its weight in beskar. Who knows, he may still pop up in The Mandalorian!
DARTH BANE
Always two there are, a Master, and an Apprentice. So decreed Darth Bane, one of the most powerful Sith Lords to exist a thousand years before the Clone Wars. He knew that the Sith could never defeat the Jedi or topple the Republic if they succumbed to fighting among themselves, so the Rule of Two was implemented to strengthen their strategies in secret.
This Darth Bane cosplay premiered at the 2013 Wizard World at Chicago, where cosplayer TheCloneEmperor took home Best In Show for his efforts. His chest, arm, and face pieces were constructed using sculpted foam and cast molds that were then painted.
BOSSK
Few Star Wars fans will remember Bossk, unless they find themselves going down the wormhole of comic books and Star Wars Legends novels. He was only present on Vader’s flagship in The Empire Strikes Back when the bounty was placed on Han Solo’s head, alongside fellow galactic gunslinger Boba Fett.
This Bossk, faithfully recreated from toe to claw by JohnnyHavoc, looks like it wandered off the set of Episode V. He sculpted, molded, painted, and sewed the cosplay himself, which is probably in much better shape than the real costume. We wouldn’t be surprised if Jon Favreau called him up to borrow it for The Mandalorian.
TARFFUL
When thinking of famous wookiees, most Star Wars fans conjure up images of a certain smuggler’s co-pilot named Chewie. But Revenge of the Sith introduced several more warriors from Kashyyyk during the Galactic Civil War, with the most impressive being Tarfful.
In an incredible YouTube video from plaigeous, the Irish cosplayer demonstrates how someone can maneuver in a costume that stands a staggering 8'2” tall. It has 15" stilts to give the cosplayer extra height, and even has an underskull with a moving jaw that allows a sound system to be activated.
ENFYS NEST
Solo: A Star Wars Story introduced Star Wars fans to a variety of new characters populating the galaxy far, far away. One of the most impressive of the new antagonists was Enfys Nest, a scrappy radicalized freedom fighter who attempted to steal some precious cargo from fledgling smuggler Han Solo.
Space Lion Cosplay did an incredible job putting together an Enfys Nest build, and worked with a team of other fans to produce the cosplay using multiple 3D prints. This beautiful shot by Alexandra Lee Studios really showcases the build’s complexity.
MASTER LUKE SKYWALKER
Star Wars fans were thrilled to see the return of Luke Skywalker in the latest Disney Star Wars sequel trilogy, beginning with his enigmatic appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. A far cry from the courageous black-clad Jedi Knight from Return of the Jedi, this Luke was a curmudgeonly and taciturn hermit.
Cosplayer Old Man Skywalker appears to be the spitting image of Mark Hamill himself in his Jedi Master Luke Skywalker ensemble, complete with screen-accurate robes, mechanical arm, and perfectly aged makeup and beard.
DARTH REVAN
Darth Revan is known by fans of Star Wars Legends as one of the greatest Sith Lords to ever live. He was featured as the main playable character in the BioWare video game in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
StonerCosplay has brought the power and malice of Darth Revan to bristling life, with his distinctive red and black helmet, armor, and lightsaber. The dynamic composition of the photograph highlights the ferocity Revan exhibited when waging war against the Republic with his apprentice Darth Malak.
DARTH MAUL CYBORG
Many Star Wars fans were horrified to witness the most memorable antagonist since Darth Vader die at the conclusion of The Phantom Menace. With his distinct facial markings, glowing yellow eyes, and incredible lightsaber technique, Darth Maul had become an iconic part of the Star Wars franchise.
The Sith Lord would make his triumphant return in Star Wars Rebels as a cyborg, which cosplayer Darth Maul Cyborg has impressively recreated in this spectacular cosplay. It was the hit of Star Wars Celebration 2019 and for good reason - it’s definitely strong in the dark side of the Force.
