How Star Wars’ Lightsaber Rules Sabotage Its Best Future
Star Wars: Visions substantiates that the canon lightsaber rules in Star Wars are sabotaging its best future. Except for Star Wars: The Clone Wars, most non-film Star Wars content produced before April 2014 is no longer considered canon. This Expanded Universe, which Lucasfilm rebranded as Star Wars Legends, included many interesting deviations on established concepts in the films, such as more detailed lightsaber aims. By de-canonizing the material and essentially starting over, Star Wars has since focused on making a clear (if unwritten) set of rules in the canon universe that, among other things, limits the various kinds of lightsabers.
Since they are not deemed canon, the stories in Visions had the creative freedom to bend these rules. In episode 1, “The Duel,” a Sith-like woman wields a multi-bladed red lightsaber that branches outer into the shape of an umbrella. When she spins this weapon, she’s able to fend off almost any attack with ease. Similar innovations appear throughout the series, very as lightsabers shaped more like katanas with thin blades, lightsabers that grow long enough to cut through an entire ship, and lightsabers that instantly change color depending on the wielder.
These many weird and wonderful lightsaber designs are some of the most exciting elements in Visions. In recent years, Star Wars fans have grown used to only seeing the standard kind of lightsaber with at most very small changes to its appearance, stretching as far as crossguards or double-blades. The new lightsabers presented in Visions bring a breath of fresh air into the franchise, proving that the canon Star Wars universe is actively sabotaging itself by steering away from individuality. By having all the lightsaber blades look almost identical, the franchise is not allowing them, or the characters who wield them, to stand out in any way.
This highlights a larger issue within the Star Wars universe. As it worked to re-establish what is considered canon within the world, it shed many interesting twists on the main films. The Expanded Universe added unique character backstories and exceptions to previously established rules, allowing for a Star Wars galaxy that was constantly developing in unpredictable ways. Standardizing worldbuilding rules creates a less exciting world. As a result, there are only certain types of heroes and certain types of villains in Star Wars, and those without Force sensitivity are almost always pushed to the side. Without room for creativity, any universe risks growing stale.
Star Wars is effectively sabotaging itself with its lightsaber rules. Its Disney+ series Star Wars: Visions proves how wonderful it can be to add new elements to an established world. Hopefully, the series will inspire Lucasfilm to grow more daring with its canon content and challenge what is possible. If that happens, then future Star Wars projects could include lightsabers with even more innovative designs than anything that has been seen before.