Original Stromtrooper Costume from Star Wars Film Expected to Fetch $1 Million at Auction
A Stormtrooper costume worn by British stuntman Reg Harding in the movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is expected to fetch a whopping £1 million at an upcoming auction in London. The costume, which happens to be a full body armor, has the legendary stuntman’s name inscribed inside the helmet and belongs to the first movie in the franchise that went on to become a smash hit. It is a one-of-a-kind movie collectible that has no other copy.
Currently, the body armor and the helmet have a guide price of £500,000 each, making the set worth £1 million. However, given the fanfare surrounding the movie franchise, auctioneers are expecting the bid to go well beyond the projected million-dollar mark!
What makes this Stormtrooper costume so irresistible to the fans of the franchise? As it turns out, the reasons are one too many.
First up, the costume appears in the famous scene where the Star Wars villain, Darth Vader, grabs Princess Leia and takes her hostage. Plus, it has been screen-matched to the scene where a character from the film, Obi-Wan Kenobi uses Jedi mind tricks to fool the army, saying the popular dialogue, “These are not the droids you’re looking for.”
That’s not all.
According to sources, the stormtrooper costume is one of the only thirty that were ever made for the movie franchise. That alone makes it a collector’s item. So, for the fans of the franchise, it’s a collectible of immeasurable value. No wonder it’s expected to fetch as much as USD$1 million in an auction!
The Stormtrooper costume, along with memorabilia and other collectibles from the film, will be up for grabs at the Propstore Auction on November 14th in London. Star Wars enthusiasts and collectors will also get the opportunity to bid on a fourth draft script of the film pegged at a guide price of £8,000 as well as a Stormtrooper e-11 Blaster Rifle worth £120,000 in guide price.
Collectibles from the Star Wars movie franchise have always fetched high prices at various auctions. Given the franchise’s widespread popularity and cult-like following, the madness over its collectibles is understandable. To date, Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing spaceship model remains the highest-grossing Star Wars collectible. It reportedly sold for more than £2.4 million.
