Why Is It Called a Cantwell-Class?
The Arrestor’s Cantwell-class naming comes from the legendary artist behind that original concept art, Colin Cantwell. Cantwell eventually merged his designs for the wedge fighters and his early cruiser design to create the iconic triangular structure of the Imperial Star Destroyer.
One of the earliest people hired by George Lucas to work on what would become Star Wars, Cantwell’s work fundamentally shaped the basis of starship design in the galaxy far, far away for generations, giving us the X-Wing, Y-Wing, and TIE Fighter designs, as well as the Star Destroyer, the Death Star, the Tantive IV Blockade Runner—itself brought out of an early design for the Millennium Falcon—and even land-based designs like the Jawa Sandcrawler and Luke’s landspeeder. The T-16 Skyhopper model Luke plays with in the movie is one of Cantwell’s own models, a ship designed for a cut racing scene on the desert planet. Cantwell sadly passed away earlier this year, at the age of 90.
