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Posted by Jobi-Wan on March 14, 2023 at 08:42 AM CST
Welcome back Rebelscum? This new bit is a little different, and comes to us from a source we typically don't feature. One of the new technologies introduced with the Galactic Starcruiser hotel at Walt Disney World was a realistic looking lightsaber with a concealed blade that extends out from the hilt, demonstrated in the following teaser video from 2021:
The effect is impressive, but apparently very limiting. This blade of this lightsaber is very flimsy and reportedly very delicate. It's also been said that it can't be easily retracted once it's been deployed, which leads to awkward exchanges like the one below at the beginning of the climactic finale aboard the Starcruiser. For the duel, the actress playing Rey has to quickly swap out the "realistic" lightsaber for the contact sparring saber shortly after igniting it.
We may be getting one step closer to a "more realistic" looking saber after the demonstration from Disney Parks and Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro during the recent SXSW festival. The folks at Disney Food Blog share that during his presentation, D’Amaro demoed an updated version of the lightsaber which can apparently retract now. Joining him on stage was the head of Disney Imagineering R&D, Leslie Evans, who can be heard explaining that this was a "hard project."
While this isn't something that we can expect to hit the market anytime soon, it is very cool to see the advancements that the folks at Disney are coming up with. The hilt still looks a little chunky to me, but I still wouldn't mind having it up on my shelf. Quite the conversation piece!
What are your thoughts about what the Imagineers are working on? What else do you think they might be cooking up? Sound off in the forums!
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