Imperial Stormtroopers have had to endure a galaxy’s worth of grief. For the best part of 40 years they were seen only as canon fodder that couldn’t shoot straight, up there with Star Trek’s luckless red shirt-wearing security personnel, killed in the most horrific of ways before the first commercial break to illustrate the serious of their situation.

It wasn’t until some bright spark pointed out that the Stormtroopers on the Death Star in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope were under instructions to miss so that Leia, Luke, Han, Chewie, Laurel and Hardy C-3PO and R2-D2 could escape, allowing Governor Tarkin to track the Millennium Falcon to the rebel’s secret base. Duh.

Thankfully, Bucketheads looks like it delves a bit deeper into what makes an Imperial Stormtrooper.

Airing today during DragonCon (it’s Labor Day holiday weekend in the US), Transmute Media has put out its first trailer for Bucketheads, offering a grittier look at life on the frontlines of the Galactic War.

The full film stars Mark Meer – known to many as the voice of the male version of Mass Effect protagonist Commander Shepard – and even has input from the legendary 501st Legion of Star Wars cosplayers, lending it a nice level of Star Wars authenticity.

Here’s a synopsis of the plot…

A squad of Stormtroopers, en-route to deliver a high-value rebel prisoner is shot down, marooning them deep in the jungles of Yavin 4. After regrouping, they head to an extraction point where they’ll be able to escape from the planet and complete their mission. Though resistance on this particular moon is far from what is used to be, the squad’s journey eventually delivers them into a meticulously planned ambush. Bucketheads is a short Star Wars Fan Film that blurs the line between good and evil. Though their leaders may be corrupt, who exactly are these warriors under the Imperial armor?

Bucketheads will debut at DragonCon before a wider release on December 8.

And let’s show some respect to the grand-daddy of all Stormtrooper fanfilms, Troops.

Hard to believe this was made over 20 years ago.

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