This Is The Darksaber We Have All Been Waiting For

The Darksaber has become such an iconic weapon in the Star Wars universe. A viewer can be impressed by their first view of it, whether it be in animation or live-action. The story of the Darksaber is part of the appeal, as it has its origins with a Mandalorian Jedi and eventually got passed down to some of the familiar characters that we have come to know across some of the TV shows. But of course, the awesome design of it is also part of the appeal. One could have easily made a lightsaber with a black blade that is pretty much the same shape as all the others. But the blade looks more like a katana, and the hilt is also very creatively designed.

For those who want to own it, the Darksaber has been brought to life via the Force FX Elite Lightsabers product line. Given that the Darksaber has been featured on a TV show as popular as The Mandalorian, it is no surprise that the weapon has joined this beloved line. Product designer Chris Reiff from Hasbro spoke with StarWars.com about what it means to make the weapon feel real.

“The feel and weight of the metal hilts is an important part of bringing as much authenticity to the wielder’s experience as possible. We want these high-end products to really help immerse the fans in the experience of carrying and wielding these iconic Star Wars pieces.”

Even though we have seen the use of the weapon in The Mandalorian season 2 by now, at the time that the product was being developed, there was not much to go off of on the live-action front, with the Darksaber having only appeared at the end of the season 1 finale prior to that point. Of course, the Darksaber had animated appearances in The Clone Wars and Rebels prior to its live-action debut.

“Since we haven’t seen it used to its full extent in The Mandalorian, looking to those past appearances allowed us to study other aspects of the saber, including the way it sounds and reacts differently than traditional sabers, so we could bring a full and accurate experience to this version.”

To be fair, the animated shows are already a great point of reference for the appearance of the Darksaber. Filoni and Favreau have talked about how, when bringing the weapon to live-action, they had to think of how to make it look less stylized. Between the animated shows and live-action media, characters, for example, might have exaggerations in their features. To my eyes, however, there is really not much of a difference between the Darksaber of the animated shows and the Darksaber of the live-action episodes. Perhaps it is something that only stands out of you really nitpick the tiny details.

Reiff also mentioned that there were challenges along the way, though he still had fun with those challenges:

“The unique form factor of the Darksaber blade did present some challenges in how to construct it and in how to maximize the edge lighting, as well as the LED type and placement unique to this saber."

“The new shape of the Darksaber’s hilt and the addition of so many white LEDs led us to another exciting new feature — the inclusion of a rechargeable battery!”

As if that were not enough, the flat blade is actually removable, so you can hold the hilt on its own if you want. This makes for a visually appealing object to display if one so chooses. In true lightsaber fashion, it would make a fine addition to one's collection.

Written By Steven Shinder

Syndicated From Culture Slate