With Star Wars: Visions set to premiere on Sept. 22, 2021, Disney released the first official trailer for the set of short films. The Japanese anime style hailing from seven different animation studios is bold, colorful and exciting. Even from the short trailer, it’s clear that Visions will be a fun, artsy way of celebrating Star Wars. As with any trailer, story details are difficult to decipher, so things like its tone and characters become easy material for discussion and examination. However, the biggest takeaway is Visions' wild weapons.
Lightsabers have always been a staple of Star Wars conflict, and how they have evolved over the years has been fun to track. From Darth Maul’s double-bladed saber to Dooku’s curved hilt to Kylo’s cross guard feature, it seems like there is always something unique and exciting. So, let’s take a look at the awesome new weapons that Star Wars: Visions will add to canon.
Early in the trailer, a female Sith-looking character wields multiple lightsabers -- six to be exact. However, the figure is human and only has two arms, so it looks like the other four lightsabers are connected to cybernetics that extend from her back, almost like the Spider-Man villain Doctor Octopus. Later in the trailer, the Sith character appears again, only this time the lightsabers are flexible and wrapping around another character's weapon. Lightwhips originated in Star Wars Legends but have seldom been seen in canon. As such, this will be the first time one will be seen on screen.
Another new weapon in the trailer is a character’s dueling clubs or batons. The thing that makes them so cool is that they are charged with red electricity. Force lightning has always been a powerful Force ability in Star Wars. Now, it looks like that power can be directly transmitted into a weapon, which is actually a Legend’s Force ability known as Force weapon. The other notable part about the lightning is its red color which will be the first appearance of red lighting since the Son used it in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Lightsabers vary in size because some species -- Yoda, for example -- are just too small to handle a full-sized lightsaber. Young trainees also need something that they can manage. However, sometimes bigger is just better. At one point in the Visions trailer, a fully armored Sith holds what’s called a lightclub. It’s exactly like a normal lightsaber; it’s just typically used by a larger species. However, this Sith looks to be average size, so the lightsaber appears huge, like a claymore. His armor and the sword make the character reminiscent of a medieval knight.
This weapon might be the strangest of all. In fact, it kind of looks like something from the Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars special. It’s not really a lightsaber pike, lightspear or anything ever seen before in Star Wars. Eight lightsabers immerge from a staff at a 90-degree angle and rotate like an Inquisitor’s lightsaber. It kind of looks like an umbrella, providing an effective shield from blaster fire.
Most lightsabers have a cylindrical-looking blade. So far, the only exception to that has been the Darksaber which is an ancient lightsaber. Now, Visions offers something similar. At one point, a Sith wields a blade that looks flat and ends on an angle, just like the Darksaber. Its inspiration appears to be a chokuto or ninjatō sword from Japanese history.
Star Wars: Visions debuts Sept. 22 on Disney+.
0 Comments