ST The Lightsaber Discussion Thread

Rey needs to build her own lightsaber, double sided. New color would be nice but nothing crazy. White would be neat. But sticking with blue would be acceptable. No purple, pink, yellow, etc.

 

Should’ve been Luke’s green ROTJ one that Rey found. The blue one was lost on Bespin and I feel it should’ve stayed that way.

 

That wouldn't have been nearly as enticing though.
First of all, the blue one is connected to both Anakin and Luke, while the green one isn't. And secondly, using the green one would have left Luke without it, which in turn would have left less story-options for Episode VIII. Now, by the way TLJ actually played out it wouldn't have been a problem, because the green lightsaber doesn't make an appearance, but at the time TFA was made this wasn't clear yet. It would have put a limit on what could be done with Luke.

That being said, her suddenly having Luke's green one after the blue one got destroyed could have been interesting. But maybe the blue one plays another role in the story, in which case staying with it would make more sense.

 

I’ve seen TROS 3x, TFA 5x, and TLJ 4x at the theaters. GL and MH had issues over how to hold a lightsaber. Lucas said they’re heavy and had to be held with 2 hands, but Hamill wanted to use one hand. Kershner went with Hamill, Marquand with Lucas. I guess JJ and maybe even RJ allowed 1 hand? I can’t remember.

 

I don't think they care about that, it looks they go with what they saw.

Kylo used one hand when he was deflecting blaster bolts in TFA.

 

https://www.inverse.com/article/37398-star-wars-the-last-jedi-lightsabers-rey-luke

 

I really wish that Abrams had not brought back the lightsaber that Luke had lost at Cloud City. That was such a mistake to me.

 

Lucas obviously changed his mind later since dual-wielding made its debut in AotC and went mainstream in TCW.

 

Its been around a lil before AOTC. For example Boc from 1997's popular Jedi Knight game used duel lightsabers.

 

Vader alternates a lot between one hand and two hand, in TESB.

I think the first notable Legends example was in the Marvel comics, back in the mid-80s - Luke uses two (his regular one + a slightly shorter one) against Lumiya's energy whip.

 

Talking animated/live action. TFU also heavily popularized duel swords.

 

Yeah, I was going off G-canon stuff since this was Lucas's opinion we were talking about. I don't think he worried about that kind of detail in games and EU stuff.

 

The upper limit of 11 lbs sounds excessive but reasonable for movie type sword weight or maybe the doubebladed lightsaber since its basically two hilts as one or combined into one. I think thats still too heavy to use in battle for any length of time as real combat swords should not weight more than 2-4 lbs tops. These hilts/light swords should not be like 15-40lb dumbbells afterall.

What I been reading about lightsabers in neo-canon, its more how they connect to eachother during battle almost like a magnetic effect, and the basic control of the current of energy of the blade which was heavy especially to non-Force sensitives. But brute strength or some training seemed to overcome any restrictiveness of the weapon to a non-Jedi trained combatant but they won't really be able to fully wield it like a Force sensitive warriors cause they're not connected to the kyber nor have Jedi-like reflexes.

 

A 6 foot greatsword like Mel Gibson used in Braveheart was about 8-10 pounds. Swords that are heavier than that do exist, but they're more for display or ceremony than actual combat.

The 5 foot greatsword on my wall is about 7-8 pounds:

 

I wish that Ben's lightsaber had survived, in some way, in Rey's possession. Over the years, my favorite lightsaber has changed from Darth Vader's, to Darth Maul's, to Darth Sidious', to Kylo Ren's. Love the look and distinct sound, and something about a semi-functional (yet fully combat capable) lightsaber that was created by a proto-Sith that worshipped the past, intrigues me.

 

A lil broken record posting as I just posted this elsewhere. Minor movie spoiler:

Nope. Pirated images are not allowed in here. /TCF

 

Technically, it does survive. It's underwater amid the wreckage of the Death Star. When the time is right, someone will find it, and it will rise up from the waters, in the hands of the Lady of the Lake. No, wait, that last part is about Excalibur. But the rest is true!

 

Now that's over, what's your favorite lightsaber of all that appear in the new trilogy?

I loved Rey's yellow, so unique with his staff hilt, but Kylo's one is going to be the one we will remember the most.

 

Kylo Ren's red saber! Like a freaking broadsword with those vents! Plus, Rey got to wield it too.

 

Rey’s yellow lightsaber, but it’s inexcusable to me how it was used narratively. It feels illegitimate to even vote for it because it exists in the film exclusively for merchandising. But I do genuinely like it enough to feel bitter that she didn’t have it at least for the entirety of RoS. Really I think she should have made it on Achoo in TLJ to better complement her own fighting style that she is accustomed to.

 

Kylo’s.

 

This was a tough vote, but I went with Leia's blue. Partially because of the pleasant surprise of learning that Leia had received full Jedi training-and even had her own lightsaber. But also I liked that it looked similar to how I always imagined it: a mostly chrome aesthetic-slightly reminiscent of Luke's design, and I always imagined Leia with a blue blade!

Although, I did really enjoy Rey's yellow lightsaber. That was a nice surprise at the end as well. The reason I wouldn't put that one first is just cos the design is more...crude than others. Presumably being made from the pieces of her staff. That and I still think she should've had a double bladed lightsaber...

 

Anakin's. Because its really the old one that matters.

 

Even though we only saw it for a second, I really liked Rey's yellow saber, I think it's my favorite. The way she spins the ring to ignite it was cool, the color was fresh and distinctive, and its design recalled her scrapper origins. Great lightsaber all around imo.

Kylo's is not bad, I like how the blade is wild and sparky, like it might just explode. However I'm not a fan of the taser noises, and the little wires coming off it are janky, like a bomb a school shooter tried to make. Its design is a bit lacking imo. I would have preferred it to look elegant, reflecting his wealthy upbringing, and well-resourced evil latron. If he'd been some kind of exile, roaming the GFFA all on his own then the unabomber design might work better.

As to the Anakin saber, it is beautiful and goosebump-inducing when we first glimpse it during TFA, and I still think the scene where Rey pulls it from the snow is magical. However, I think that overall the ST puts too much weight onto it, and fails to narratively make the connection. The implication throughout is that Rey will be the inheritor of the Skywalker legacy, but we never quite get there. Then she just ends up burying it at the end, so puzzling. Inspite of its prominence I think it was misused. It's a cathartic member berry for sure, but I don't think I can call it my favorite.

All the other lightsabers are inconsequential, shame really.

 

Rey's yellow....It's baffling they insisted on making her use the skywalker saber every movie, even after Rey isn't a skywalker and not friends with Luke and after they literally break it in TLJ.