To differentiate the First Order stormtroopers from their earlier Imperial counterparts, the helmet and armor were redesigned for the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens by costume designer Michael Kaplan with input from director J. J. Abrams.[33] Within the Star Wars setting, this armor is described as being an improvement over the previous iteration, including better joint design for greater flexibility, stronger betaplast armor plating, and upgraded helmet communication and targeting systems.[2][3]