WASHINGTON 鈥� The film鈥檚 called 鈥淭he Last Jedi,鈥� but don鈥檛 be mistaken.
Regardless of what happens in the latest 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� film, there will always be a few Jedi around 鈥� along with some Imperial Stormtroopers, Jawas, Rebel Alliance pilots and the like.
And some might even be living next door. Kind of.
As Yoda would say: The real thing they are not, but look like it they sure as heck do.
They鈥檙e the 鈥渃ostuming鈥� superfans, the ones who wear their 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� love on their sleeve.
Before you dismiss them as nerds, let鈥檚 get something straight: Fandom is fandom, whether it鈥檚 their robelike Jedi outfits or your robelike Alex Ovechkin jersey. And for these fans, dressing the part isn鈥檛 as easy as dropping by the stadium fan shop. Even those who start with 聽still have a lot of work to do.
鈥淎ny costume is going to take at least two of your blood, sweat and tears,鈥� said Bria LaVorgna, the PR officer for , a Virginia group that costumes as the film saga鈥檚 bad guys. (She costumes as an聽.)
To give you an idea of what LaVorgna means by this, let鈥檚 use an example: old-school (i.e., Episodes IV-VI) 聽armor. You can buy the pre-made parts for it, but it鈥檚 not exactly 辫谤锚迟-脿-辫辞谤迟别谤.
鈥淲hen you get a Stormtrooper kit, it will be a box of white plastic, untrimmed,鈥� she said, 鈥� … but you need to cut it to your body size. You need to form it to you. You need to rig it up and make sure that it fits your body specifically.
鈥淥therwise, you are going to be very uncomfortable and unhappy when you鈥檙e trooping.鈥�
The good, the bad and the mercs
Garrison Tyranus is a branch of the , one of a few 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� costuming groups whose membership extends around the world. Other groups include 聽(who costume as the good guys) and the 聽(who costume as the bounty hunters, mercenaries etc.). All place an emphasis on charity work and community outreach.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing cooler than having Princess Leia read a story to you at your library reading night,鈥� said Kellie Hendley, executive officer of Rebel Legion鈥檚 D.C./Maryland branch, Terrapin Base. (She costumes as a , and will even be doing the Polar Bear Plunge in full costume to benefit Special Olympics Maryland. .)
Tyranus has about 260 members; Terrapin Base has around 40. The groups are open to everybody 18 and over. They are, however, selective. That costume has to meet their standards before membership is granted. Throwing on a bathrobe, grabbing a flashlight and calling yourself won鈥檛 cut it.
Think of it as a very specific type of fashion design, requiring a fair amount of work before powering up the sewing machine.
鈥淵ou have to research everything 鈥� the types of fabrics used,鈥� Hendley said. 鈥淲e hand-dye our fabrics so that they end up the same color. My bandoleers are the original army surplus ones that are about 50 years old. You literally have to handcraft every aspect of your outfit.鈥�
Newbies aren鈥檛 alone in their quest to put together a membership-worthy costume. The groups鈥� members are more than willing to help them out.
鈥淭he 501st has been very good about breaking [it] down: 鈥榊ou want to be a stormtrooper? Here鈥檚 exactly what you need for at a minimum to get in,鈥欌�� LaVorgna said, 鈥渁nd guys can work off of that, as well as work within their garrisons and all the other [reference materials] that we have out there.鈥�
United by The Force聽
Like any sports fan base, it鈥檚 a community of sorts. Who populates it?
鈥淲e have guys who are gravediggers, dentists, law enforcement, government workers, military, entrepreneurs, independent contractors, all with various political beliefs covering the entire spectrum 鈥� from extreme left to extreme right 鈥� who normally wouldn鈥檛 give each other the time of day,鈥� said Jason Stanley, Inferno Squad leader for Garrison Tyranus. (He costumes as an .)
鈥濃�橲tar Wars鈥� brings us all together,鈥� he said.
Speaking of that binding force, there is that movie coming out on Friday. What are these superfans hoping to see? LaVorgna is eager to see new characters like Rose Tico. And Stanley, who grew up with the original trilogy, is curious to see how 鈥淔orce Awakens鈥� protagonist Rey fits into the 鈥済reater Skywalker mythology.鈥�
Then there is Hendley, who doesn鈥檛 have to speculate: She was among the select few to actually see the movie at its L.A. premiere over the weekend. Lucasfilm invited the group out as a reward for its charity work.
鈥淚t was amazingly fun,鈥� said Hendley. 鈥淚t has to be the most fun out of all the 鈥楽tar Wars鈥� movies. …鈥�
OK, just stop right there. Spoilers we don鈥檛 want to hear.
