A couple of years ago we learned that The Walt Disney Company had filed for a patent for a new lightsaber toy that is described as a “Sword Device with Retractable, Internally Illuminated Blade.” This is supposed to be the closest thing Star Wars fans will get to a real working lightsaber and during the recent “A Special Look Inside Disney Parks” virtual event, Disney showed it off!

The event was hosted by Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, and as the presentation was about to come to a close, “D’Amaro appeared in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland park, teasing viewers that more is to come from the Disney Parks and said that fans ‘never know’ what they’ll come up with next, before showing something that we all didn’t see coming: D’Amaro pulled out a lightsaber emitter, similar to those you would purchase from Galaxy’s Edge, turned it on, and a true-to-life, just-like-the-movies lightsaber blade rose up — before cheekily adding, ‘It’s real.’”

Unfortunately, there are no videos or photos from the event as attendees were not allowed to record anything or take photos during the presentation, but it sounds pretty damn cool!

When describing what the lightsaber looked like, Attraction Magazine said, “The best way to describe it is to think of how the lightsabers look and work in the Star Wars films, and, somehow, it looks 1:1.” Well, crap! I can’t wait to see it for myself!

The lightsaber was previously described as follows, the hilt of the lightsaber will include mechanics that work like a motorized tape measure. It’s explained that with the press of a button, “the tapes will extend to a total length several times that of the hilt itself. The tapes will also have some kind of LED lighting inside, such that the lightsaber can light up similar to the way they appear in the films.”

It’s explained that the same mechanics that are used to eject the blade will also be used in reverse to retract the blade. “The LEDs will be affixed to a tape that retracts onto a spool as the lightsaber blade retracts.”

I can’t wait to get my hands on one!