Before I get into the reason why a REAL, working lightsaber would never work, as so many noted engineers and scientists have already gone over, let’s examine this ‘working’ lightsaber that Disney has come up with, and explain the dynamics of it. Essentially it’s a tube with a motor in it that operates on kind of the same principle as a tape measure, with the bonus of the motor, that will be activated by the flick of a switch, extending the ‘saber’ portion as the two steel tape sections extend from the hilt and create the weapon. In other words, it’s not much different than the models that can be found in Target, Walmart, and many other stores, with the exception that it’s bound to be a bit more expensive because it has a working motor in it. It kind of dashes hopes, that’s for certain, but getting hold of one of these things would do about the same since like it or not, even the lightsabers that are capable of letting a person duel with another and cost hundreds to well over a thousand dollars are basically expensive toys, no matter how anyone wants to say otherwise. As a Star Wars fan I have a few of my own lightsabers and there is that part of me that wishes that a live, flashing column of plasma would come to life every time I wanted it to, but the reality is that a live lightsaber, one that could actually cut and melt down a steel door, would be too dangerous for anyone.
The fantasy of the lightsaber is great since it has its own power source, a crystal to focus the Force energy that its crystal is imbued with, and it’s a very compact weapon that can be hidden easily and thumbed to life at a moment’s notice. But it’s a fantasy that’s better off remaining a fantasy since the destructive power of the blade, as mentioned in so many comics, movies, and even in the animated shows is simply terrifying to behold since something that can cut cleanly through flesh, bone, and then cut through steel as well is a weapon that the average individual doesn’t need. As it shows in the movies, even the Jedi have to start off with training sabers, and Obi-Wan giving Luke his father’s lightsaber was incredibly stupid now in hindsight since the kid could have sliced away and things would have been extremely different. This type of weapon doesn’t have many known weaknesses apart from the normal damage to which the hilt is susceptible and the fact that cortosis ore and beskar can withstand a lightsaber and not be instantly destroyed. Cortosis, a fantasy metal in the Star Wars universe, will actually cancel out a lightsaber and make it useless for a while, though whether that’s something that would be kept in the current canon or not is hard to say. Beskar is a part of canon though, and we’ve seen what happens when it meets a lightsaber, as the darksaber might have sheared through it eventually, given that it was turning Din Djarin’s spear red hot after sitting in position for too long.
But this ‘working’ lightsaber that Disney is producing is another way to make a few bucks, something that the Mouse House has been doing quite well with since they acquired Star Wars from George Lucas. The lightsaber has been one of the most iconic weapons throughout all of pop culture since it was first introduced in Star Wars: A New Hope, and it’s gone through many different variations since its inclusion into the franchise. In fact, there’s one version of it that exists in the Legends canon that was shown in the far-flung past, a version that showed the lightsabers that were being used attached by a cord to a power pack that was worn on the hip. The Jedi never even started out using lightsabers according to the Dawn of the Jedi story, as they were known as J’edaii to begin with. Things have definitely changed as the story has grown and kind of stretched beyond what George Lucas had in store for it, and the weapon that was created for the Jedi and the Sith, and for all the Force-users that lay somewhere in between or outside the orders, has changed accordingly. This lightsaber that Disney has created is another toy for people to play with, and will no doubt be able to impress some people when it comes out with its ingenuity, but in the end, it’s just another expensive toy.
There’s no attempt here to say that it’s worth any less, it’s a desire to adhere to the realism of the thing since some people hear ‘working lightsaber’ and think that someone has found a way to make the fantasy weapon work. Likely as not, Thanos’ sword from Endgame will make more sense in the long run.
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