Darth Vader's suit could cost you an arm and a leg (or should that be two legs?). If you’ve ever wondered how much it would cost to get your supervillain career of the ground, Shade Station have worked out how much it would actually cost to create a Darth Vader suit.
The top expense would the base suit at around $12 million. A chunk of that money would go into making the suit airtight and pressurized in order to withstand the extreme conditions of space. Therefore, only a NASA-grade space suit would fit the bill. Hopefully, they make them in black.
Next would be his prosthetic limbs. Obi-Wan Kenobi slices off one of Vader’s arms and two of his legs during a lightsaber battle in "Revenge of the Sith." A top-of-the-range robotic arm would cost you around $40,000 and the two legs would set you back $70,000 each. Not only that, but there would be $5.4 million worth of bills, maintenance and upgrades on the prosthetics throughout their lifetime.
Another sizable chunk of change would be the iconic helmet, complete with augmented reality. If you’re going to be crushing the Rebel scum, you’re going to need an advanced helmet with a mounted display that has targeting information and night vision, similar to a U.S. Air Force F-35 fighter jet pilot. That would be another $600,000.
Of course, you wouldn’t be Darth Vader without the voice and heavy breathing. The heart and lung machine built into his suit is expected to cost at least $45,000, and the high-end permanent voice synthesizer would be around $1,000.
All in all, you’re looking at an overall price tag of $18.3 million. That includes $5 for the cape, too. It’s a pricey business being a Sith lord; you'd better get saving.
