Disney has been hiding one of its coolest inventions yet, but on the rare occasion you might get to see it: the real Star Wars lightsaber Disney has teased for some time now.
The rumors of the “real” lightsaber came about during a virtual press conference in April, in which the conference reportedly ended with a video of Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro wielding the new lightsaber that springs to life just like in the movies.
Next, on May 4, Disney Parks showed off a 13-second clip of it in action, teasing that guests could see it once the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser opens.
And now, we’re getting the briefest, new look at the real lightsaber in action thanks to a video released by Disney Parks once again — this time celebrating Walt Disney Imagineering being named 2021’s Best Workplaces for Innovators by Fast Company.
In the video, you can see the lightsaber around the 44-second mark. An Imagineer tests it at a workstation, holding it and igniting the saber. And, well, that’s all we’ll get for now! Yes, it is a brief look, but it’s amazing to see that the technology they’ve tinkered with allowed them to create a lightsaber that requires no movie magic whatsoever.
It’s something that everyday fans can activate with the push of a button — meaning no more clunky lightsabers that can never retract, or no more cheap lightsabers that extend in three parts. You can see the lightsaber for yourself in the video below:
Disney’s real Star Wars lightsaber
Outside of this video, Disney still hasn’t revealed much about the lightsaber itself. As their last video indicates, we could likely see the lightsabers make their debut when trips for the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser begin in Spring 2022.
The Starcruiser will feature lightsaber training, where guests can channel their inner Jedi to practice their skills with lightsabers. Though, we’re not sure if this means guests will have to purchase their own lightsaber, or if the class itself will lend out lightsabers for the training.
The prices for the Starcruiser are already sky-high, and as one commenter jokes on YouTube: “That lightsaber is gonna cost me an arm, isn’t it?”
It’s also possible that these could replace the lightsabers that are available at Savi’s Workshop at Galaxy’s Edge. Although, because those lightsabers are actually built by guests themselves, we’re not quite sure if the technology for the real lightsabers will be compatible with the lightsaber-building experience that comes with going to Savi’s. So, we may have two means of getting a lightsaber at Disney Parks depending on how things go.
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