The Star Wars movies have given fans the opportunity to explore an impressively diverse galaxy far, far away. By following the adventures of Jedi, Sith, bounty hunters, smuggler, Ewoks, and galactic citizens of all shapes and sizes, their imaginations are ignited faster than a double bladed lightsaber. It makes you want to pull on your bathrobe, grab your flashlight, and run around the house fighting invisible, imaginary Imperial foes. But some people actually take dressing up like Star Wars characters seriously, so seriously, in fact, that they attempt to dress as the most difficult characters possible. No vehicle is too large, nor creature too top heavy for the most intrepid Star Wars fans to recreate into an elaborate cosplay.

Cosplaying has gotten incredibly advanced in recent years, with techniques that used to only be accessible to production crews on film sets now available to everyone. From the latest molding, foam injection, and sculpting techniques, to the newest painting and coloring options, even the most difficult outfits and builds can be fully realized and at a fraction of the weight or discomfort. After reviewing a variety of fan cosplays, CBR has made the ultimate list of the 15 Star Wars cosplays you thought were impossible!

15 BOSSK

The passing Star Wars fan is lucky if they’re able to name one bounty hunter in Vader’s lineup of scum to track down a frozen Han Solo (hint: it’s Boba Fett). But he’s not the only galactic gunslinger with a lethal reputation. Bossk, the green-skinned Trandoshan bounty hunter is renowned in his own right, especially for hunting Wookiees. But being a stone cold killer doesn’t mean he didn’t have to help mentor a young orphaned Boba, who he helped shape into the dangerous bounty hunter he became.

JohnnyHavoc’s Bossk is a completely realized look, with the sculpting, molding, sewing, fabricating, and painting all done by him. This is replica quality for sure, and looks like it walked off the set. The attention to detail is a costumer's’ dream come true.

14 RANCOR

The Rancor made its first appearance beneath Jabba’s palace in Return of the Jedi. For a puppet, it seemed gigantic, thanks to the wizardry of camera angles. Rancors are reptilian carnivores from the planet Dathomir, roughly five meters tall and able to withstand blaster fire thanks to their armored hide.

This Rancor, depicted here from the 2015 Comic Con, was made by Frank Ippolito and his crew from ModelSpace USA. It took three weeks to assemble, and was based on actual detailed photos and descriptions from the production team of the film. It’s made from a series of cast molds, sculpted foam, and rubber cement paint. A luminair camera inside the nostrils allows the wearer to see, since the eyes are solid. Originally, the Rancor itself was going to be depicted by an actor in a suit, so this is as close to that version as we’ll ever see.

13 CYBORG LEG DARTH MAUL

While most people believe that Darth Maul died following a lightsaber duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo at the end of The Phantom Menace, the Clone Wars series has him return over a decade later, now sporting a pair of crazy metal robot legs. He forms a criminal army known as the Shadow Collective, which he used to regain the power and influence he once had.

Anyone that can recreate Maul’s cyborg legs in real life deserves the title of Sith Lord all to themselves. Area51 designed these Weta Digilegs, which are designed to secure around the thighs and position the foot almost entirely pointed down to the ground. To think that underneath all that scary, stuntman Justin “Lucky” McQueede he looks like a ballerina. The talons, claws, and armored plating are all mounted to the exoskeleton after the fact.

12 GENERAL GRIEVOUS

General Grievous was one of the most interesting villains to come from the Star Wars prequels besides Darth Maul. The Supreme Commander of the Droid Army, he was a cyborg from Kalee who decided to enhance his combat abilities with cybernetic implants. When Count Dooku needed someone to lead the Separatist Droid Army, he recruited Grievous to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems and trained him with a lightsaber (of which he can wield four at one time!).

Intimidating and awe-inspiring, this cosplay of Grievous is meticulously recreated down to each claw-tipped articulated leg. Rather than use their own legs to represent his, the cosplayer’s are concealed behind the large drape of his cloak, with the toes of their shoes connected to the heels of his feet, thus enabling him to walk realistically when they do. The question remains...does he start randomly coughing?

11 AT-ST

The AT-ST, or All Terrain Scout Transport, is the counterpart to the hulking monstrosities known as the AT-AT’s in The Empire Strikes Back. They were used on Hoth and also on Endor in Return of the Jedi. Used for transporting Imperial ground forces, they scouted ahead for larger scout transport carriers, cleaning up minor resistance along a pre planned invasion route. They require a lot of skill and dexterity to maneuver, as their flimsy stability garnered them the nickname “chicken walker”.

There’s nothing chicken about this cosplayer’ rig, though. Rather than wrap a gray cardboard box around his chest, he’s actually built the entire AT-ST that he can manipulate via a shoulder harness and a set of poles that support the body, while his feet are connected to its legs. Where he goes, it goes, with all the coordination of the best Imperial drivers.

10 DARTH BANE

While the Sith are universally terrifying, one look at Darth Bane is liable to shortcircuit the lightsaber of even the bravest Jedi. Resembling something out of Hellraiser, Darth Bane was a human Sith Lord that managed to survive the Jedi-Sith war that occurred a thousand years before the Clone Wars. He implemented the Rule of Two so that there would only ever be one Master to hold the knowledge and power of the Dark Side, and one apprentice to crave it. In that way, the Sith could machinate their plans in secrecy.

This cosplayer, TheCloneEmperor, certainly embodies the villainy of Darth Bane at the 2013 Wizard World in Chicago, so much so that he won "Best In Show". The headpiece and arms were created by a combination of sculpting foam and painted molds.

9 DARTH TALON

For those that only think of Jabba’s pasty majordomo when they think of long lekku’d Twi’leks, meet Darth Talon, the female Lethan Twi’lek who trained under Darth Krayt and became a Sith Lady in his One Sith Order. She had Sith tattoos similar to those of Darth Maul that covered her entire body, including her lekku, the two long sensory organs that protrude from behind her head. In typical Sith fashion, she had killed her previous master Darth Ruyn, thus securing her place as a fully ranked Sith in Darth Krayt’s Order. Her first appearance was Star Wars Legacy #0.

This cosplayer looks straight out of the pages of the comic! The most important aspects to ensure pulling off Darth Talon’s cosplay is the red skin paint, meticulous tattoos, and the lekku, which she’s managed to pull off with exacting attention to detail.

8 HAN SOLO IN CARBONITE

Han Solo was frozen in carbonite at the end of the Empire Strikes back, and since then, has had the likeness of his immobilized form made into coffee tables and phone cases. A lifesize replica version that’s probably better than the film prop can even be yours to hang in your living room to impress guests. So when it comes to a cosplay, it may not seem like the most difficult to create, but the concept has to be executed the right way.

The costume has to be light enough to wear, especially for long periods of time like when this cosplayer waded through the crowds of Comic Con. It also has to not prevent visibility and, despite Han Solo being immobile, they shouldn’t be. So this foamcore carbonite sandwich board is the perfect solution, even if Han Solo mysteriously ends up wearing glasses.

7 WAMPA

Outside of Obi-Wan Kenobi slicing off Ponda Baba’s arm at the cantina in Mos Eisley, the Wampa attack sequence in Empire Strikes Back showed the most blood in the classic trilogy. Even Luke losing a hand didn’t result in a geyser of the red stuff. The Wampa attack was originally conceived as an explanation for why Luke looked different going into filming (Mark Hamill had suffered a car accident and hadn’t fully healed from subsequent surgeries).

This amazing Wampa cosplay stands over six feet tall, with the cosplayer standing on stilts inside the legs to achieve a towering monster sized height. The rest of it is molded and sculpted plastic fitted into the fur suit. It was created for the annual Star Wars Celebration, the biggest Star Wars convention that exists.

6 SHAAK TI

The Star Wars prequels introduced fans to dozens of new Jedi, many of whom were non humanoid. Suddenly the galaxy got a little more interesting with so many exotic looking Force users. Shaak Ti was a Togruta Jedi Masters who also held a seat on the Jedi Council. She was a prominent member of the Jedi Order towards the end of the Galactic Republic. Like Obi-Wan, she too became a general during the Clone Wars. She supervised the training of thousands of clone troopers on Kamino, and commanded dozens of squads into battle.

A Shaak Ti cosplay can easily go south depending on blotchy skin paint and poor head fixtures, but this cosplayer has managed to do both amazingly well. So well, in fact, that they’re the primary focus and no one notices she’s not wearing any traditional Jedi robes.

5 SANDTROOPER ON DEWBACK

In A New Hope, the vague shadow of a dewback can be seen in the background of a long shot featuring several stormtroopers searching for the whereabouts of C3P-O and R2-D2. In the Special Edition version released in 1997, there were several dewbacks prominently featured in the scene with the wonders of CGI, as well as lumbering around Mos Eisley. It’s the only time we see the Empire co-opting the local wildlife, usually preferring the efficiency of mechanical transportation.

Here we see some truly epic cosplay skills by way of a majestic dewback and his sandtrooper mount. It’s operated by two cosplayers on the inside maneuvering the legs and head -- talk about some serious coordination! The mounted sandtrooper is in fact a mannequin, which is probably the safest option.

4 REBEL ON SPEEDER BIKE

Unlike cosplaying as a Rebel soldier riding a Tauntaun, your legs don’t have to be stuffed into fur boots along with the rest of you. As a Rebel soldier on a speeder bike, you have the freedom of mobility and a much less confining costume. Speeder bikes were used by the scout troopers on Endor to traverse the forests, since they probably didn’t have time to domesticate any of the local wildlife. Luke and Leia stole a pair in Return of the Jedi, which resulted in an epic chase sequence, and established speeder bikes as pretty much the best things ever.

This 74-Z speeder bike was made by the transportation company Aratech sometime between Episodes III and IV, and was released only under a military contract to the Empire. It was meant to be an intergalactic motorcycle, and that’s exactly what inspired the clever construction by this cosplayer.

3 YODA

The pint sized Jedi Master that trained Jedi for 800 years is a tough character to cosplay if you’re not three feet tall. He’s a typical character to cosplay for babies, small children, and the occasional animal, much like Ewoks. But this cosplayer realized that with the right makeup, prosthetic ears, and body posturing, he could make a convincing Yoda despite being twice his size.

If you think he’s just on his knees, with his legs conveniently stretched behind him outside of the camera frame, you’d be wrong! With the commitment and dedication of the most elite Jedi Masters, he’s in the lotus position, which he can walk in with the help of his gimmer stick. The Force is truly strong with him!

2 REBEL ON TAUNTAUN

A sort of badge of honor among Star Wars cosplay enthusiasts is whether or not they can assemble a quality TaunTaun costume. It’s considered particularly challenging because it involves technically making two costumes (one for the rider, and one for the tauntaun), with the tauntaun needing to look large enough to support the weight of a human rider. Most of the time the tauntaun cosplays created include the cosplayers feet wrapped in tauntaun fur, with mannequin legs jutting out from their hips to create the illusion they’re riding it.

Scott Holden has taken it a step further and actually used stilts in the making of this tauntaun cosplay. His legs are fitted with them and then he climbs into the tauntaun suit. Those fake rider legs are pretty impressive and don’t even give it away!

1 LAMA SU

Lama Su was the Prime Minister of Kamino before and during the Clone Wars who oversaw the clones that would make up the ranks of the Grand Army of the Republic. At the behest of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, he made ten thousand clones, which Master Kenobi inadvertently discovered when he was tracking the bounty hunter Jango Fett to Kamino. What Obi Wan didn’t know was that it was Lord Tyranus, aka Count Dooku who ensured the host for the clones was Jango Fett.

This cosplayer faithfully recreates the incredibly long limbed Lama Su, right down to his long neck, crest on his head, and three fingered hands. The large cowl that rises from the back of the neck helps to conceal the wearers head, which has to support the base of Lama Su’s neck.