Disney’s ‘Real Life’ Star Wars Lightsaber Expands in New Video

Disney’s “Real Life” Star Wars lightsaber.
Gif: Disney Imagineering

Next year, Disney will reveal the most authentic-looking real-world Star Wars lightsaber yet, and a new video just revealed our best look to date.

Earlier this year, buzz began that Disney was working on what fans quickly called a “real-life lightsaber.” Not because it had a kyber crystal inside and could turn a tauntaun into a sleeping bag with one quick stroke, but because a blade of light extended out of a hilt on its own, looking almost as realistic as it did in the Star Wars films. (Not an actual blade of light, but something that looks better than a huge lightbulb you lock into something, like most other saber replicas.)

When the first video of the saber was released a month later, it was announced this “real-life” saber was likely to debut at Walt Disney World’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, an immersive, hotel-like Star Wars experience expected to open in 2022. (More on that in a second.) Now though, a very cool video from Walt Disney Imagineering has a new look at the saber (you can see it in the GIF above) and though it’s only for a moment, it’s truly glorious. Here’s the full video; the big reveal comes 44 seconds in.

Whoomp, there it is. Lots of cool stuff in that video beyond just the Star Wars things, such as the animatronic Groot and a look inside the Web-Slingers ride. But, let’s face it, it’s all about the saber.

The issue with the saber is, if it’s only going to be in Galactic Starcruiser, it’s gonna be a while before most of us get our hands on one. As revealed earlier today, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is going to be very, very, very expensive even before you get on board—which is where, hypothetically, you’d have a chance to buy one. Or maybe just use one and return it. We don’t know.

What we think, though, is this technology is just too cool to limit to a few hundred rich people every two days. Even if it takes months or years, fans will eventually be able to get their hands on one and live out all their Star Wars lightsaber fantasies. If that happens, will you be adding one to your collection?

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