Darth Unknown's Lightsaber (speculation thread)

arkangel

arkangel

Well-Known Member
The release of the teaser has shown us a glimpse of a new lightsaber to drool, disect, and speculate about. I agree with a lot of the comments regarding the sabers unrealistic functionality (if you can even say this about a lightsaber) , specifically the cross-guard being composed of saber light and how that would be difficult to weild without cutting your wrists off. If comparing this design to it's forebearers, however, the same holds true of Darth Maul's lightsaber. I'd love to see longer, two handed hilts ala The Old Republic / Tales of the Jedi era but I see the need to up the ante when it comes to design esthetics.
That said... has anyone had a good look at the stills? Has anyone noticed that the lightsaber's blade looks more fiery and less uniform (due the cold environment or maybe improved saber technology in the 30 years since the OT?) Anyone see how easy it would be for a saber weilding jedi to simply cut off a cross-guard stub on that claymore looking monstrosity?
Let the speculation begin... :)
 
Yeah, this new saber looks unusual but I think a lot of the criticism leveled toward it is rather silly. Darth Maul's saber could also be considered just as dangerous to the user as it is to an opponent but it can be explained away by emphasizing the considerable training and skill of the user. It's rumored this saber is an ancient Sith artifiact which would explain why it looks so different than the "newer" sabers we've seen. The pommel "blades" look like some sort of exhaust or venting to me.
 
Wolfsburg said:
Yeah, this new saber looks unusual but I think a lot of the criticism leveled toward it is rather silly. Darth Maul's saber could also be considered just as dangerous to the user as it is to an opponent but it can be explained away by emphasizing the considerable training and skill of the user. It's rumored this saber is an ancient Sith artifiact which would explain why it looks so different than the "newer" sabers we've seen. The pommel "blades" look like some sort of exhaust or venting to me.
Click to expand...
I feel the same, I seen people bashing the saber due to the guard. However the part that is emitting the guard blades is the guard itself in my eyes and can have more versatility. The exhaust theory is cool :)
 
It's got a different sound to it and it seems like the perfect dark side blade. It's pure evil energy and it would be awesome to see it wielded like a heavy medieval sword.
 
You're not alone gents. I like the look so far. And I'll throw my vote in for exhaust venting of some sorts. Interested in seeing if there are more than one of these in the film.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
This might sound crazy, but since the look of this film is old school, I'll venture it. Back in the day, Heiland Research offered an accessory 3-bulb head shaped like a T that attached to the flash handle just like the mini-bulb head, which many of you have seen if not owned. One bulb went straight up in the normal fashion with other bulbs sticking out left/right on the side (see pic). This saber looks like it used that concept.

I'm not saying this is exactly what it is since there's no detail present, but the looks are near identical so the prop designers might have used it as the basis for this weapon's design.


15718488447_c3a68c8844_b.jpg
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I like the look. Not sure how it would hold up in an actual fight, but I am glad to see updates to the typical light saber design. In my opinion, since the sith were killed in Jedi, maybe this is a rouge sith, not really skilled at manufacturing a good saber. Could that explain why the blade appears less smooth? I dunno really, all speculation. But it would be cool if JJ is taking us to a time line of rouge siths that the rebels must hunt down. Again, pure speculation :)
 
Probe Droid said:
This might sound crazy, but since the look of this film is old school, I'll venture it. Back in the day, Heiland Research offered an accessory 3-bulb head shaped like a T that attached to the flash handle just like the mini-bulb head, which many of you have seen if not owned. One bulb went straight up in the normal fashion with other bulbs sticking out left/right on the side (see pic). This saber looks like it used that concept.

I'm not saying this is exactly what it is since there's no detail present, but the looks are near identical so the prop designers might have used it as the basis for this weapon's design.


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7574/15718488447_c3a68c8844_b.jpg[/url]
Click to expand...

You may be on to something here. I imagine the prop dept. would be going back to its roots given the back to basics filmmaking style of JJA.
 
If it's really a sith artifact, we could very well be looking at the precursor to the more modern / elegant lightsabers of the prequel era (as opposed to the Rebellion era when jedi sabers focused more on function than being all bling and pretty) If this is the case, it would explain the raw/savage look of the blade and the less refined concept of heat venting.
I can just imagine Mace Windu looking at this old artifact (or the Old Ben weathered saber for that matter) "Dude, your saber is sooo ghetto"
 
Probe Droid said:
This might sound crazy, but since the look of this film is old school, I'll venture it. Back in the day, Heiland Research offered an accessory 3-bulb head shaped like a T that attached to the flash handle just like the mini-bulb head, which many of you have seen if not owned. One bulb went straight up in the normal fashion with other bulbs sticking out left/right on the side (see pic). This saber looks like it used that concept.

I'm not saying this is exactly what it is since there's no detail present, but the looks are near identical so the prop designers might have used it as the basis for this weapon's design.


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7574/15718488447_c3a68c8844_b.jpg[/url]
Click to expand...

Holy crap, I never knew that. Very interesting. It'd be cool if that's how it came to be.
 
Is there t-track by the pommel?

As for those complaining of impracticality, I submit Mace's saber. NOTHING to block the fingers from the blade. Hell, a taper ENCOURAGING the hand to slip blade-ward. I'll take the claymore saber anyday over Mace's.
 
Probe Droid said:
This might sound crazy, but since the look of this film is old school, I'll venture it. Back in the day, Heiland Research offered an accessory 3-bulb head shaped like a T that attached to the flash handle just like the mini-bulb head, which many of you have seen if not owned. One bulb went straight up in the normal fashion with other bulbs sticking out left/right on the side (see pic). This saber looks like it used that concept.
Click to expand...

Good eye !! Wouldn't that be something if JJ really did look at the real world parts of the OT sabers for inspiration?? It's really not that far fetched, considering how much homage he is paying to Ralph McQuarrie early concept design and the props and sets over CGI film making style he's using to give the sequels a more original trilogy feel.
If this becomes the first Parts of Star Wars real world part entry for episode 7, you'll have to be credited Probe Droid. :)
 
If you can get your hands on the 1080p QuickTime mov file (like I did) that Apple made but I think then then yanked from their site as I could not find a link (I had to get it from "elsewhere"), you can get a lot more detail on the saber... and everything else in the teaser. YouTube's compression is horrible. I don't believe there is any T-track on the pommel but there is a red light on the very bottom of the pommel and the pommel has slots in it that you can see all the way through.
 
cayman shen said:
As for those complaining of impracticality, I submit Mace's saber. NOTHING to block the fingers from the blade. Hell, a taper ENCOURAGING the hand to slip blade-ward. I'll take the claymore saber anyday over Mace's.
Click to expand...

Those were my exact thoughts when I first saw the Mace saber. Lots of gold and bling, but horrible design. It really does look like it's built to encourage finger loss and we won't even get into the multiple amputee discussion that is the Darth Maul saber.
I don't mind the design of this ep 7 saber if it is indeed supposed to be an ancient sith artifact. The only part I'm having trouble wrapping my head around is a cross-guard that looks like it could be cut through, which of course defeats it's logical purpose whether it doubles as a heat vent or not.
 
cayman shen said:
If Luke's saber debuted today, people would be online saying "those fat grips and that huge clamp/box...how impractical! How does he hold it or fight with that thing? Terrible design!" :lol
Click to expand...

Agreed, but when I hold my MR Mace, I'm instantly afraid for my wrists and fingers, compared to holding any of the OT sabers and when I pick up the Darth Maul, I instantly think wheelchair. :unsure
 
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