| Lightsaber | |
|---|---|
| Star Wars franchise element | |
 Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber | |
| Publisher | Lucasfilm |
| First appearance | Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope(1977) |
| Created by | George Lucas |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| In-universe information | |
| Type | Energy sword |
| Function |
|
| Affiliation | |
Alightsaber is afictionalenergy sword featured throughoutStar Wars. A typical lightsaber is shown as a luminous laser sword about 3 feet (0.91 m) in length emitted from a metalhilt around 10.5 inches (27 cm) in length.[1] Introduced in theoriginalStar Wars film,[a] it has since appeared in all 12 theatricalStar Wars films, with at least one lightsaberduel occurring in each installment of the "Skywalker saga". The lightsaber's distinct appearance was created usingrotoscoping for theoriginal films, and withdigital effects for theprequel andsequel trilogies.
In theStar Warsuniverse, the lightsaber is thesignature weapon of thelight-side-wieldingJedi Order and thedark-side-wieldingSith Order. However, the lightsaber can also be wielded by non-Force-sensitive characters as an ordinary weapon or tool.[2] The Jedi use lightsabers of various colors: most commonly blue and green, but also purple, white, black, and yellow. The Sith wield red-bladed sabers to distinguish themselves from the Jedi. The color of a lightsaber's blade is given by its kyber crystal, whose color is determined by a Jedi's connection to theForce.[3] A lightsaber's hilt is built by its wielder and is, therefore, unique in design. There are several variations outside of the traditional single-bladed lightsaber, such as the double-bladed lightsaber (most famously wielded byDarth Maul), the curved-hilted lightsaber (wielded byAsajj Ventress and most famously byCount Dooku),crossguard lightsabers (used byKylo Ren and occasionally by Jedi), and theDarksaber, forged by the Mandalorian JediTarre Vizsla, but primarily wielded by the non-Force-sensitiveMandalorian rulers of Mandalore (includingPre Vizsla andBo-Katan Kryze).
An active lightsaber gives off a distinctive hum, which rises in pitch and volume as the blade is moved rapidly through the air. As presented in the early films, the blade can cut, burn, and melt through most substances with little resistance.[4] Lightsabers can deflectblaster bolts, allowing a wielder with Jedi reflexes to turn an enemy's own gunfire against them. It can be deflected by another lightsaber blade, which produces a loud crackle; byenergy shields; or by the metals beskar (found inMandalorian armor) and phrik (the metal used to create electrostaffs). Some exotic saber-proofmelee weapons have been introduced in theExpanded Universe as well as later episodic films. The blade has been used to weld metal, and has been shown to leave bothcauterized wounds and bleeding wounds in flesh.
The lightsaber has become one of the most widely recognized elements of theStar Wars franchise. In 2008, a survey of about 2,000 film fans found it to be the most popular weapon in film history.[5][6]
Covered with millions of tiny glass beads, [Scotchlite] has the property of reflecting light directly back to its source. It's the same material used for reflective road signs [and lightsaber props].
For the originalStar Wars film, thefilm prophilts were constructed byRoger Christian from old Graflexpress cameraflash battery packs and other pieces of hardware,[8] while special effects that brought the blade to life on screen were made byJohn Stears. The full-sized sword props were designed to appear ignited onscreen, by later creating an "in-camera" glowing effect in post-production. The blade is a three-sided rod which was coated with aScotchliteretroreflector array, the same sort used forhighway signs.[7] A lamp was positioned to the side of the taking camera and reflected towards the subject through 45-degree angled glass so that the sword would appear to glow from the camera's point of view.
Set decorator Roger Christian found the handles for theGraflex Flash Gun in a photography shop inGreat Marlborough Street, in London'sWest End.[9] He then added cabinet T-track to the handles, securely attaching them withcyanoacrylate glue. Adding a few "greebles" (surface details), Christian managed to hand-make the first prototype of a lightsaber prop forLuke Skywalker before production began.George Lucas decided he wanted to add a clip to the handle, so that Luke could hang it on his belt. Once Lucas felt the handle was up to his standards, it went to John Stears to create the wooden dowel rod with front-projection paint so that the animators would have a glow of light to enhance later on in post production. Due to lack of preparation time, Christian's prototype and a second spare were used for the shooting in Tunisia, where filming onStar Wars began.[10] It was discovered, however, that the glowing effect was greatly dependent on the rod's orientation to the camera, and during theObi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Vader duel, they could clearly be seen as rods. Because of this, the glow would be added in post-production through rotoscoping, which also allowed for diffusion to be employed to enhance the glow.
While original trilogy hilts were typically constructed using found parts, during the prequel and sequel trilogies a different process was sometimes used. Hilts were first machined out of metal materials. Then casts would be made using the metal hilts to create resin copies that were used on screen.[11] The resin was often molded over a metal rod that a dueling blade could be attached to for fight sequences.
KoreananimatorNelson Shin, who was working forDePatie–Freleng Enterprises at the time, was asked by his manager if he could animate the lightsaber in the live-action scenes of a film. After Shin accepted the assignment, the live-action footage was given to him. He drew the lightsabers with arotoscope, an animation which was superimposed onto the footage of the physical lightsaber blade prop. Shin explained to the people from Lucasfilm that since a lightsaber is made of light, the sword should look "a little shaky" like a fluorescent tube. He suggested inserting one frame that was much lighter than the others while printing the film on anoptical printer, making the light seem to vibrate. Shin also recommended adding adegausser sound on top of the other sounds for the weapon since the sound would be reminiscent of a magnetic field. The whole process took one week, surprising his company. Lucasfilm showed Shin the finished product, having followed his suggestions to use anX-Acto knife to give the lightsaber a very sharp look, and to have sound accompany the weapon's movements.[12]
The lightsabersound effect was developed by sound designerBen Burtt as a combination of the hum of idlinginterlock motors in aged movie projectors and interference caused by a television set on a shieldlessmicrophone. Burtt discovered the latter accidentally as he was looking for a buzzing, sparking sound to add to the projector-motor hum.[13]
The pitch changes of lightsaber movement were produced by playing the basic lightsaber tone on a loudspeaker and recording it on a moving microphone, generatingDoppler shift to mimic a moving sound source.[14]
Lightsabers were present in the earliest drafts as mundane plasma weapons that were used alongside laser guns.[15][16] The introduction ofthe Force in a later revision made the Jedi and the Sith supernaturally skilled; initially, they were only portrayed as swordsmen.[17] The lightsaber became the Force-user's tool, described inA New Hope by Obi-Wan Kenobi as "not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon, from a more civilized age".[18] The source of a lightsaber's power is akyber crystal.[19] These crystals are also the power source of theDeath Star's superlaser.[20][21]
In films such asRevenge of the Sith andThe Last Jedi, melee weapons such as theelectrostaff and plasma-lined blades deflect lightsabers.[22][23]
Lightsabers are depicted as hand-built as part of a Jedi's or Sith's training regimen. Each lightsaber is unique, though some may bear resemblance to others, especially if there is a connection between the builders. The hilt of most lightsabers is straight and predominantly cylindrical, though there are other lightsaber hilt types. The first film appearance of a dual-bladed lightsaber (first depicted in the comic seriesTales of the Jedi) was inThe Phantom Menace, wielded byDarth Maul; it consists of two regular lightsabers joined at their butt ends each producing a blade independently.Count Dooku, beginning with the character's first appearance inAttack of the Clones, is shown to have a lightsaber with a curved hilt. The video gameStar Wars: The Force Unleashed introduced two other variants: a lightsaber pike (a lightsaber with a shorter blade but a long handle, resembling a spear) and aTonfa-style lightsaber with right-angle hilt. Additionally, in several spin-off series such asThe Clone Wars andRebels, special variants of the lightsaber have been depicted - such as the lightsaber-blaster wielded byEzra Bridger.
TheStar Wars expanded universe adds several lightsaber types, including short[24] and dual-phase (adjustable length) weapons.[25][26] InStar Wars Rebels, Ezra Bridger's original lightsaber is a hybrid that features a fully functionalblaster pistol built into the handle.Kylo Ren, introduced inThe Force Awakens, uses a lightsaber that features twocrosshilt blades, giving it the appearance of agreatsword. His blade also has an unstable, fiery appearance, explained in canon reference books as stemming from a cracked kyber crystal.[27] The Inquisitors of theGalactic Empire are depicted as wielding a unique variation of a double-bladed saber, mounted on a rotating ring enabling the blades 360 degrees of rotation and short-term flight capability. More obscure lightsaber variations, such as the "lightwhip", an elongated flexible blade used in a manner akin to awhip, the "lightclub", an enlarged standard lightsaber, and the "shoto", a dramatically smaller variation often paired with a standard sized saber have also made appearances.
Lightsabers in the first two released films,A New Hope andThe Empire Strikes Back, had blades that were either blue (for the Jedi) or red (for the Sith).Luke Skywalker's new lightsaber inReturn of the Jedi was colored blue during the initial editing of the film, and appears so in both an early movie trailer and the official theatrical posters; it was later changed to green in the film's final edit after initial viewings and screen tests by the filmmakers, who felt that it would better stand out against the blue sky ofTatooine in outdoor scenes, and this color change is also reflected in the film's re-release posters.Mace Windu's purple-bladed lightsaber, as first seen inAttack of the Clones, was requested by the actorSamuel L. Jackson, who believed the color, which is his personal favorite, would make his character be easily recognized among other Jedi.[b] Jackson is known to frequently request that the characters he plays use an item that is purple in color.[30]The Clone Wars showed the guardians of the Jedi Temple wielding yellow-bladed lightsabers, and, at the end ofThe Rise of Skywalker, Rey is shown to have built a yellow-bladed lightsaber using part of her staff as the hilt.
As depicted inThe Clone Wars andRebels, the builder of a lightsaber finds a kyber crystal and meditates with it until the crystal acquires a color. The color of this crystal becomes the blade's color when installed into a lightsaber hilt. In the bookStar Wars: Ahsoka and the comic seriesDarth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith, it is shown that dark side users remove the crystal from a defeated Jedi's lightsaber and concentrate Force energy on it to break its connection to the light side, a process known as "bleeding" to create a red crystal. The process can also be reversed, as shown inAhsoka, when the titular character does so to a pair of crystals taken from an Inquisitor. She uses them in the pair of white-bladed lightsabers she builds at the end of the novel.
Other colors have appeared in variousexpanded media projects, including many video games where the player can select their character's lightsaber color.
The Darksaber is a unique lightsaber that has a distinct black blade with a white halo, introduced inStar Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and subsequently appearing inStar Wars Rebels, where it is described as an ancient lightsaber created by Tarre Vizla, the firstMandalorian to become a Jedi, and later serves as a symbol of Mandalorian authority in the hands ofBo-Katan Kryze. According to Mandalorian tradition, the weapon cannot simply be given; it must be won from a defeated combatant. It subsequently appears briefly in the hands ofMoff Gideon in theseason one finale ofThe Mandalorian, to whom Kryze had previously surrendered the weapon.[31][32][33] By the end ofthe second season's finale, it belongs to series protagonistDin Djarin, who has bested Gideon for it. Inthe second episode of thethird season of the show, the weapon (nominally) returns to Kryze's ownership, after she defeats a cyborg creature that captures Djarin (it remains in Din Djarin's possession, however), and she officially reclaims the blade in the season'ssixth episode. It is destroyed by Gideon in thethird season finale.
The technical lightsaber choreography for the originalStar Wars trilogy was developed byHollywood sword-masterBob Anderson. Anderson personally trainedMark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and, inThe Empire Strikes Back andReturn of the Jedi, performed all the stunts asDarth Vader during the lightsaber duels wearing Vader's costume. Anderson's role in the trilogy was highlighted in the filmReclaiming the Blade where he shared his experiences as a fencer developing the lightsaber techniques for the three original movies.
The lightsaber duels in theStar Wars prequel trilogy were specifically choreographed by stunt-coordinatorNick Gillard to be miniature "stories". For these films, Gillard was the primary sword instructor forLiam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn),Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi),Ray Park (Darth Maul) andHayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader) among other actors. His goal in choreographing the action forThe Phantom Menace was to create stunts that flow from the story; "You can't just think, 'I'm astunt coordinator, I'm going to make a big stunt happen'," Gillard said. "It's all about making it tie in nicely with the film so that you don't notice the stunts."[citation needed]
In writing the prequel trilogy, George Lucas said he wanted the lightsaber combat to be "reminiscent of what had been done in the previous films but also something that was more energized. We'd seen old men, young boys, and characters who were half-droid, but we'd never seen a Jedi in his prime. I wanted to do that with a fight that was faster and more dynamic—and we were able to pull that off."[34]
According to Gillard, various lightsaber combat styles, or forms, were devised for the prequels and intended to furthercharacterize their practitioners.
I developed different styles for the characters, and gave each of them a flaw or a bonus. So with Obi-Wan Kenobi, for instance, he's got a very business-like style—when he was younger he could border on the flashy and might twirl his lightsaber a bit, because he was taught by Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon was brash, that rubbed off on Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan then taught Anakin, who was way too old to learn anyway... I think the style really worked well. The Jedi style of fighting is an amalgamation of all the greatswordfighting styles. Melding them together is the difficult part—to move from aKendo style to, say,rapier requires a complete change in body and feet movement, and this must look effortless. The style moves seamlessly between the different disciplines, but remains technically correct throughout.[35]
ForThe Phantom Menace, Gillard set out certain styles and faults for the saber-wielding characters.[36] He added that the Jedi's use of such "a short-range weapon" meant "they would have to be very good at it"; combining a variety of disciplines from various sword fighting styles to martial arts "with a touch of tennis and tree chopping", he created the style seen in theEpisode I lightsaber battles.[37]
ForThe Force Awakens, directorJ. J. Abrams decided to approach the choreography similarly to how it was done in the original trilogy. Abrams stated that the prequel trilogy choreography was "increasingly spectacular and stylized, almost like dance choreography", but that was not what they really wanted to go for in the new films.[38] He toldEmpire magazine, "When you look atStar Wars andEmpire, they are very different lightsaber battles, but for me they felt more powerful because they were not quite as slick. I was hoping to go for something much more primitive, aggressive and rougher, a throwback to the kind of heart-stopping lightsaber fights I remembered being so enthralled by as a kid."[38]
Over the years, advancements in technology have allowed for the creation of increasingly immersive and realistic lightsaber replicas.
Disneyland in California sells lightsaber-themedchurros outside itsStar Tours attraction.[39]
Disneyland and Disney World (Hollywood Studios) also sell legacy lightsabers which are replicas of the lightsabers seen used by the Jedi, Sith, and other warriors in the movies and television shows such as Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Rey Skywalker, Count Dooku, and Kylo Ren.[40][41]
Disneyland and Hollywood Studios also offer Savi's Workshop, a place where guests can build their own lightsaber and choose their own kyber crystal, thereby changing the blade color of their own unique lightsaber.[42][43][44]
Besides Savi's Workshop, there is another custom lightsaber experience. The Star Trader at Disneyland offers guests a chance to build their own lightsabers, without first paying 200 dollars for the experience.[45]
TheJedi Training: Trials of the Temple is a live show where children are selected to learn the teachings of theJedi Knights,the Force, and the basics of Lightsaber combat to becomePadawan learners. The show is present at theRebels stage next toStar Tours – The Adventures Continue attraction atDisney's Hollywood Studios and at theTomorrowland Terrace at Disneyland.Additionally,Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser has incorporated lightsaber training for each guest aboard the spacecraft during their stay. The training is led by the Saja cast members and teaches the fourth form of lightsaber combat, Ataru, to the guests. Both lightsabers and shields are used during training since the guests learn to use Ataru to deflect incoming projectiles. There is no lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat in this attraction and guests must be at least seven years old to participate.[46]
Thevirtual realityrhythm gameBeat Saber involves the player using two lightsabers in order to slash a series of oncoming cubes.[47]
InKamen Rider Black RX, the main character, Rider RX also known as Kotaro Minami, uses his lightsaber-ish weapon "Revolcane" to fight the Crisis Empire, a terrorist organization.
In Saban's Masked Rider, the main character, known as Dex Stewart, uses his lightsaber-ish weapon "Electro Saber" to fight Masked Rider's foes.[citation needed]
InAndor,Luthen Rael's Fondor haulcraft is equipped with two beam emitters that deployed stable and sustained laser bolts not unlike those on a lightsaber. These beam weapons were highly effective at slicing enemy starfighters at close range, but they took a relatively long time to charge.
In the 1987 filmSpaceballs byMel Brooks, "the Schwartz" is a play on "the Force", fromStar Wars. The lightsabers emanate from the Schwartz-rings, rather than a hilt. The cartoon seriesFuturama features many lightsaber-style weapons, notably expanding batons used by police. The batons glow and "whoosh" with a lightsaber's distinctive hum, but are used to beat people. In Jim Butcher'sDresden Files novel series, medical examiner andStar Wars fanWaldo Butters wields one of the three holy Swords of the Cross, which re-fashions itself into a lightsaber upon accepting him as its owner. InYuya Sato'sDanganronpa: Togamilight novel trilogy, main antagonistOrvin Elevator / Kazuya Togami wields a lightsaber built into their prosthetic arm, to which they are berated for copyright infringement byGenocider Syo / Genocide Jack; in theanimeDanganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, this same lightsaber is instead depicted as a flaming mechanicalkatana wielded byKyosuke Munakata.
With the advent ofmotion-controlledvideo games, players were given the opportunity to wield an in-game lightsaber with their own hands. In theseventh generation of video game consoles, there were severalStar Wars video games available on theWii (Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga,Star Wars: The Force Unleashed,Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Lightsaber Duels,Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Republic Heroes andLego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars) and one on theXbox 360 (Kinect Star Wars) that utilized motion controls to wield a lightsaber through arm gestures.Unleashed andDuels, both developed byKrome Studios, have more precise control of the lightsaber, allowing players to swing it in any of five different directions (up, down, left, right or forward) with theWii Remote, whileKinect takes advantage ofthe eponymous, camera-based motion controller to grant the player a more fluid, one-to-one control method of swinging the lightsaber.
Prior to the seventh generation, there were also a few earlierStar Wars games that used gesture-based control to simulate lightsaber combat, such as the two bonus levels of thearcade gameStar Wars Trilogy, where the player controls Luke Skywalker as he wields his lightsaber againstBoba Fett and Darth Vader inReturn of the Jedi by pushing a joystick in one of eight directions to follow on-screen offensive and defensive cues,[48] and aTV game released around the timeRevenge of the Sith came to theaters, titledStar Wars: Saga Edition – Lightsaber Battle Game, in which the player swings a lightsaber-shaped controller to deflect blaster bolts from infantry (such asbattle droids andclone troopers) and duel against characters from across the saga.
By the timeDisney purchased Lucasfilm, new technological advances madeaugmented reality possible, leading to the creation of some more notable motion-controlled lightsaber video games that took advantage of that feature. One of them came in the form of a special activity mode in the officialStar Wars fan app oniOS andAndroid in which players use their smartphone's motion sensors to practice and master blaster deflection with a training droid (which appears on the phone's rear camera), similar to the deflection training exercises featured aboard theMillennium Falcon inA New Hope, while progressing through the ranks of the Jedi or Sith order. Another is inStar Wars: Jedi Challenges, which works with a Lenovo Mirage AR headset, a tracking sensor and a dedicated lightsaber controller that launched in December 2017. One of the multiple game modes available inChallenges, which was jointly developed by Disney andLenovo, enables players to confrontStar Wars villains in lightsaber duels, such as Darth Maul and Kylo Ren.[49]
Footnotes
Citations
...a material called Scotchlite. Covered with millions of tiny glass beads, it has the property of reflecting light directly back to its source. It's the same material used for reflective road signs (and the glowing light sabers inStar Wars, which were sticks wrapped in Scotchlite).
...the microphone passed right behind the picture tube and as it did, this particular microphone produced an unusual hum. It picked up a transmission from the television set and a signal was induced into its sound reproducing mechanism, and that was a great buzz, actually. So I took that buzz and recorded it with the projector motor sound and that fifty-fifty kind of combination of those two sounds became the basic Lightsaber tone."
The lightsaber wooshing sounds are created by waving a microphone in front of a speaker playing humming and buzzing noises.
An alarm sounds. The rebels are forced to fight their way out of the prison with "multiple lazer guns" and swords.
Ten troopers break out of the ranks and take up the chase. Starkiller runs down a corridor and rounds a corner, reaching a dead end. The troops round the corner and confront the trapped Jedi.
