The most talked about element of the first STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS teaser had to be the cross-guard lightsaber. The comments ranged from those who thought it was cool all the way to the folks arguing the physical limitations and battlefield ramifications of using such a weapon. Regardless of which camp you fall into, I am sure we all agree that we want to see more of the saber in action.
Why J.J. Abrams and the team behind the saber redesign for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS decided to go in such a direction may have been thanks to Jony Ive. If you are not familiar with that name, you would instantly recognize his work as Ive is the man who designed the look of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Yeah, if you thought Abrams' STAR TREK reboot looked like an Apple Store, Ive may have had an impact on STAR WARS as well.
In an interview for The New Yorker, Ive said he was not the actual designer of the new lightsaber but rather was involved in conversations about the new film with J.J. Abrams.
"I thought it would be interesting it if were less precise and just a little bit more spitty," he recalled, adding that he suggested that the redesign could be "more analog and more primitive and I think in that way, somehow more ominous."
Whether Ive was in the room when the new saber was sketched, his comments seem to have been taken to heart as the cross-guard weapon does look more primitive and definitely "spitty". Theories have ranged all over the place as to why this Sith lightsaber looks this way but it doesn't seem to be an accident. I just hope that it has a removable battery and an SD card slot.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS hits theaters on December 18th, 2015.
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