Colin Cantwell, the creator of the ‘Star Wars’ spacecraft, has passed away.
Sierra Dall, the 90-year-old artist’s long-term partner, informed the Hollywood Reporter that he died on Saturday at his home in Colorado (21.05.22).
Colin developed the prototypes for various Star Wars ships, including the X-wing, TIE Fighter, Landspeeder, and the iconic Death Star, while studying animation at the University of California and attending Frank Lloyd Wright’s School of Architecture. He also designed the Tantive IV, which was supposed to be the Millennium Falcon at the time.
Creator Of The Star Wars Colin Cantwell
Cantwell was born in Colorado in 1932 and went on to study architecture after earning a degree in animation.
Colin Cantwell worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Nasa during the US-Russia space competition in the 1960s, helping the American people understand the flights.
As a result, during the momentous Moon landing broadcast in 1969, he worked alongside TV journalist Walter Cronkite, establishing a link between him and the astronauts.
Cantwell’s fascination with both architecture and space propelled him to success in Hollywood, where he worked in special photographic effects on 2001: A Space Odyssey, contributing to the film’s epic space opening scene.
Lucas then enlisted him, along with other designers including Ralph McQuarrie, to help build the first models for the 1977 Star Wars film.
Colin Cantwell, the artist behind several of the Star Wars spacecraft, passed away at the age of 90.
Cantwell made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Death Star, X-Wing, TIE fighter, and Imperial Star Destroyer prototypes were then requested by Star Wars creator George Lucas.
Shannon Eric Denton, Cantwell’s cousin, said he “gave a lot of joy to the world with his art.”
Special photographic effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey, technical dialogue for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and computer graphics design for WarGames are among Cantwell’s cinematic credits. The prototypes for the X-wing, TIE fighter, Star Destroyer, and Death Star are among his Star Wars design and building credits.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is supporting the American public in better recognizing the trips. This led to his collaborating with television reporter Walter Cronkite on the historic 1969 Moon landing program, providing a link between him and the astronauts. Cantwell thrived in Hollywood, where he worked on special photographic effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey, contributing to the film’s epic space opening scene. Lucas invited him, along with other developers including Ralph McQuarrie, to help design prototype models for the 1977 film Stars Battle.
Colin admitted that “a dart being thrown at a target in a British bar gave him the concept for the X-wing,” and that “he accidentally constructed the Death Star’s meridian trench, which was utilized by the Alliance and Luke Skywalker in an attack in ‘A New Hope’.”
“I didn’t mean for the Death Star to have a trench,” he explained in 2016, “but when I was working with the mold, I discovered the two parts had shrunk at the place where they meet across the middle.”
Read More:
