Colin Cantwell: Star Wars fans remember Hollywood's epic spaceship creator

Colorado - Colin Cantwell, the legendary designer of Star Wars spaceships like the X-Wing and TIE Fighter, passed away on Saturday, but the force is still with him among fan tributes.

Colin Cantwell came up with some of the best-known spaceships in movie history.
Colin Cantwell came up with some of the best-known spaceships in movie history.  © Screenshot/Instagram/colin_cantwell

Cantwell died at the age of 90 in his Colorado home on Saturday, his partner Sierra Dall confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. But his memory lives, and flies, on with Star Wars ships and Hollywood hits.

Cantwell was a space and architecture whiz before pivoting to entertainment, and came up with some of the most iconic spacecraft in cinema, like the first Death Star.

One of his biggest achievements in film history was designing the space scenes in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce steal the show at Coachella as fans go crazy over cameo
Taylor Swift Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce steal the show at Coachella as fans go crazy over cameo

His website has an overview of his contributions and claims to fame on the silver screen.

Since his passing, tributes have continued to pour out on social media for the legend.

Star Wars wouldn’t be what it is without him," wrote one fan.

Colin Cantwell went from space travel to space movies

Before movies and design work, Cantwell had an intense career at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. He combined his love of space and education to help tell us non-space experts how the moon landing went down, for example.

Before that, he studied architecture with one of the most prominent architects in US history, Frank Lloyd Wright.

He was also known for his different design projects and skills, including making music suggestions for A Space Odyssey, getting into programming, and even writing some science fiction books.

Cantwell is survived by his partner Sierra Dall, who he'd been with for 24 years, while his imagination will be immortalized on film and beloved by generations.

Cover photo: Screenshot/Instagram/colin_cantwell

More on Celebrities: