Movies - TV
Star Wars’ Iconic Lightsaber Design Came From A ‘Holy Grail’ Moment Of Luck
By JEREMY SMITH
The lightsaber is one of the most iconic items in “Star Wars,” and when it came time to build the props, art director Roger Christian found the parts in an unusual place.
In an interview included in Titan Books’ “Star Wars: Icons of the Galaxy,” Christian related the story of stumbling upon the lightsaber in the London photographic shop Brunnings.
Christian rummaged through boxes of old equipment, and one box contained items he described as “several silver, tube-like objects with red buttons set into the handles.”
“I pulled one out, amazed. They actually looked like Ralph McQuarrie's paintings of the lightsaber. Somehow I was at the moment of finding the Holy Grail,” Christian recalled.
Christian applied black rubber t-strips to the tube to emulate the hilt, and added LED lights from an old Texas Instruments calculator to complete the illusion.
“I superglued the plastic strip onto the Graflex, and there, before my eyes, was Luke's lightsaber” Christian said. Add Ben Burtt’s sound design, and the rest is movie history.