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Design Film Technology

That lightsaber

I loved the trailer, every bit of it, even the bit I really wasn’t sure about: that lightsaber.

fa-lightsaber

The idea of a crossguard isn’t a bad one but if if one saber slides down another (something we don’t often see) it’s just going to hit the emitter and slice through handle (and now the Holocron has been Order 66-ed I imagine a cortosis-weave is out of the question). Then again, I could be wrong:

(There’s also the issue of self-harm, though presumably if you’re going with bonus blades you’re going to be competent enough not to nick yourself.)

Apparently in some quarters it’s getting called a Laser Claymore but the idea of a lightsaber as a big two-hander gets a bit weird too. The trade-off in a two-handed weapon is weight/power for speed/finesse. Surely a lightsaber weighs no more than the handle irrespective of the length of the blade? If so could you just have a really long blade and not have to worry about actual swordplay, just swing/poke from afar?

Ultimately I hope the crossguard-saber is awesome. In fact I’m almost certain I will love it within seconds of seeing it on the big screen. As a kid I drew so many lightsaber weapon variations: somewhere in a box there’s a guy I drew with freakin’ light-boomerangs which is getting into Mad Max territory.