Lucasfilm
The new stormtroopers are given a sleek makeover for "The Force Awakens."
Kaplan, who previously worked on "Blade Runner," "Fight Club," and J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek," didn't think anything from the original "Star Wars" trilogy could apply to a new film.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Kaplan says that a lot of the old costumes, such as the stormtrooper uniforms, would not be usable anymore.
"Audiences of today have become so sophisticated that a lot of things you could get away with in the past, you can't anymore." Kaplan told Vanity Fair. "So the new uniforms are much heavier."
Much of the action in the film is different than it was in the original and because of that, the new costumes had to be designed to accommodate that.
Google Images
"The Force Awakens" costume designer Michael Kaplan got the job on "Blade Runner" because he understood that the film required a noir look.
Disney/Lucasfilm The Empire was given a much darker look.
While director J.J. Abrams wanted to hold on to the "uniqueness" of the stormtroopers, he also realized that it would be odd to "have the same stormtroopers this much later when Leia and Han are so much older."
"The Force Awakens" will take place 30 years after the events of "Return of the Jedi," which came out in 1983.
Instead of drastically changing the way the stormtroopers look, they decided to make their outfits a little simpler. Or, as Kaplan puts it, he thought: "what would Apple do?"
Like with a lot of new Apple products, Abrams wanted the stormtroopers to still look the same "at a glance" but also "different enough to kind of wow people and get them excited about the new design."
There were some other looks that Kaplan wanted to alter as well. He recalls being confused by the look of the warring factions.
"...The uniform colors kind of overlapped-both [the rebels and the Empire] had some khakis and olive, and I kind of thought, Now I'm in a position to do something about this." Kaplan said.
To remedy this problem, he gave The Empire "very cold blacks and grays and metallics and teal blues." Meanwhile, The Rebels are given a warmer look of "khakis and olives and some oranges."
Even the looks of classic characters such as Leia, Luke, and Han, who will return for "The Force Awakens," weren't completely sacred. However, Kaplan realizes that there is a line he must walk between preserving what the characters always were, and making necessary changes.
Disney/Lucasfilm
Kaplan tried not to change Han Solo's look too drastically.
You'll have to wait until the end of the year to see the new looks. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will be in theaters December 18, 2015.