Last year, the Star Wars fandom was rocked by the unexpected loss of actor Ray Stevenson and costume designer Shawna Trpcic, respectively before and after the release of their final project in the series, Ahsoka. As 2024 begins, we wanted to pay our respects to them at least one more time, as well as a few others who helped make the saga the presence it is in our lives after their passing last year.
Jamie Christopher
Assistant director and producer Jamie Christopher only worked on one entry of the Star Wars saga, but what an entry it was: it was The Last Jedi, the best film in the series after The Empire Strikes Back. Rian Johnson enjoyed working with him so much that they would reteam on Knives Out, although afterwards Christopher would become preoccupied with his role at another part of the Disney empire, Marvel Studios. His death from heart complications last summer, aged only 52, was all the more tragic as he left behind a wife and four children; I just hope that they can take pride in the essential role he played in some of the biggest films of all time. As Johnson put it, “He loved his crew, loved his job, the process of it and the history of it. He was truly one of the greats.”
Roger Kastel
Illustrator Roger Kastel similarly played a small but pivotal role in Star Wars, creating the theatrical poster for The Empire Strikes Back. Borrowing from Howard Terpning’s art for the 1967 re-release of Gone with the Wind, Kastel created the quintessential image of Han Solo and Princess Leia’s romance, as well as the ultimate Looming Bad Guy art with Darth Vader’s lenses. Not only that, but Kastel created the poster for Jaws, perhaps the single greatest piece of movie art ever created, and the most iconic Doc Savage pin-up of all time. He may not have been the most prolific movie poster artist (heck, he actually painted the Jaws poster for the novel’s paperback release), but what a life well lived.
Norman Reynolds
Original trilogy art director/production designer Norman Reynolds was a legend: not only did he work on those films, bringing the art of Ralph McQuarrie and co. to life, he also oversaw the sets of the first two Superman films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return to Oz, Empire of the Sun, Alien 3, Mission: Impossible, and many more. Echo Base, Dagobah, Cloud City, Jabba’s palace and sail barge, the Emperor’s throne room, Krypton, the Chachapoyan temple, Tanis, none of these would’ve been realized without Reynolds: he even sculpted the fertility idol at the start of Raiders. He retired by the 2000s, but his craft lives on: whenever you see a fantasy film or TV show realize a location physically, you’re seeing someone continue the effort Reynolds made to truly bring these worlds to life.
Ray Stevenson
Like many, I first saw Ray Stevenson as Titus Pullo on HBO’s Rome. Dave Filoni must’ve been a fan, because long before Stevenson portrayed Baylan Skoll on Ahsoka, he was cast as Gar Saxon, the nemesis of his Rome co-star Kevin McKidd’s character Fenn Rau, on Star Wars Rebels. It might come as a surprise for some to learn or recall Stevenson had two Star Wars roles, but I think it’s a testament to how ubiquitous of an actor he was, and how odd and upsetting it is that he’s no longer with us. He was an incredibly busy man, appearing in films and TV shows from around the world (like RRR): he even reprised the role of the Punisher on The Super Hero Squad Show!
These were generally supporting roles, some great, some not so much, and sometimes both: he was terrific as Volstagg in the first Thor movie, but his screentime declined to the point he appeared for five seconds before getting killed off in Ragnarok. (It’s a real shame he didn’t get to play the part outside those three movies.) The great thing about Baylan Skoll is how it let him take center stage, even if he technically wasn’t the main antagonist, with refreshingly nuanced writing for a dark side Force wielder, and a strikingly simple character design that let his world-weary performance shine. Whatever Filoni decides to do with Baylan in the future, hopefully it’ll honor Stevenson’s memory in the best way possible.
Continued belowShawna Trpcic
Long before she joined Lucasfilm, Shawna Trpcic was already a legend in the world of space westerns for designing the costumes on Firefly. She had an eclectic career, working on projects as diverse as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and Another Period, before joining The Mandalorian in 2019, going on to oversee the clothing on seasons two and three, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. Working on these was a labor of love for Trpcic, who constantly immersed herself in previous Star Wars production artwork for inspiration, and a literal family affair, with her son Joseph designing Boba’s new belt buckle.
Her passing, two weeks before she would’ve turned 57, was a terrible loss, that made me realize how much I’d taken her work for granted. It was easy to, since so much of her projects’ visual language had been established by their animated predecessors, but Trpcic did a wonderful job of translating what had come before into live-action, while crafting beautiful new costumes for cast members like Jennifer Beals and Carl Weathers, and the incredible stormtrooper outfits introduced on Mando season three and Ahsoka. Now, whenever I see Captain Enoch’s haunting visage, or Ezra’s dog tag-scale armor, I will always remember Shawna may’ve come up with them, instead of Filoni or Favreau, and I will be forever grateful for her work.
Thank you Shawna; thank you Ray; thank you Jamie; thank you Norman; and thank you Roger — sincerely, may the Force be with all of your loved ones during the new year and beyond.
