The Star Wars in-universe origin of the Cantwell-Class Arrestor Cruiser’s name
Star Wars fans were thrilled when Colin Cantwell’s last name popped up in episode 11, “The Daughters of Ferrix,” during the first season of Andor on Disney+. As we discussed in our blog post on the subject, the Cantwell-Class Arrestor Cruiser that harassed Rebel Alliance member Luthen Rael was indeed named after Colin, and the ship was based on an early Star Destroyer design of his.
And, yes, the ship actually makes its first canonical appearance in a recruiting hologram behind Han Solo during the movie Solo, when our hero is trying to get off-world and decides to join the Imperial Navy. It was supposed to also play a prominent role during a scene depicting one of Han’s training exercises, but that footage was cut from the final film. You can see it in the bonus features on the Solo Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD disc, but the special effects were left unfinished.
Republic starship designer Walex Cantwell Blissex I enters canon
Of course, we wouldn’t be Star Wars fans if we didn’t wonder how the name was bestowed on that ship in our favorite galaxy far, far away, would we? That question was answered in recent years with the introduction of Walex Cantwell Blissex I, a human starship designer who had a hand in the creation of several Republic-era ships, including the Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor, the Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighter, the RZ-1 A-wing interceptor, the Gladiator I Star Destroyer, and other craft.
Yes, that means his ships later saw service during the reign of the Empire, with his V-wing ship serving as the inspiration for the infamous TIE Fighter. And when the Imperial Navy sought to implement a ship whose purpose was the capture of ships used by pirates, smugglers, and rebels, the contract was granted to Kuat Drive Yards, whose designers created the Cantwell-Class Arrestor Cruiser and named it after Walex Cantwell Blissex I.
By that point, however, Walex had joined the nascent Rebel Alliance and became an officer. He was present on the Alliance flagship Home One during the attack on the second Death Star, as depicted in Return of the Jedi. An unnamed extra played a background character who was retconned as Walex by some folks at Lucasfilm, and he made his way into various official materials. He even had a daughter, Lira Wessex, who was a ship designer too, although she worked for the Empire and had a hand in creating Darth Vader’s Executor-class Super Star Destroyer.
And if you really want to go down the canon rabbit hole, here’s a final fun fact for you: Walex and his daughter had their names bestowed on Blissex-head and Wessex-head bit drivers, which are tools often used by scavengers. In fact, Rey carries both of them with her on the planet Jakku in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.