How Ahsoka Practically Updated Star Wars' Classic Lightsaber Designs

Ahsoka's prop master Josh Roth reveals how the Star Wars show made some pivotal changes to how lightsabers work to create more fluid action.

Ahsoka had to make some major changes to how lightsabers are built in order to facilitate the show's more dynamic action.

Per Screen Rant, Ahsoka's prop master Josh Roth spoke on how the series made some fundamental changes to the iconic weapon during Destination D23. "The design for Ahsoka's saber here was very important. We had to slim it down, we had to work with it, and it was really challenging because we didn't have, at the time, the technical ability to keep the batteries inside the hilts," Roth explained. "So we had to keep the batteries in Rosario's sleeves, for the first time starting in season 2. Now when we saw Rosario [Dawson, star] getting her own show, for number one, we had to change that. So we were able to work with my team to create a new saber that was totally integrated, so she could do all the stunts and fighting."

This isn't the first time the creative team behind Ahsoka has spoken about their commitment to capturing Star Wars' lightsaber battles. In speaking about how the show deals with fight choreography, creator Dave Filoni made it clear he wanted the duels to be as authentic as possible. "There needs to be a lot of lightsaber fights, and they have to be good because our fans know the difference," he said. Dawson commented that she wanted to go above and beyond for her lightsaber brawls, training endless in preparation. "I am playing someone who is an absolute expert. I really wanted to be able to physicalize that as much as possible... No matter how tired I was, I was like 'Sign me up for some more, sign me up for some more!'" she said.

Ahsoka follows the titular Jedi as she embarks upon a quest to track down and eliminate Grand Admiral Thrawn, the last remaining imperial warlord who aims to rebuild The Empire. Serving as a live-action continuation of Star Wars Rebels, the show has already established itself in the hearts of fans by including beloved characters like Hera Syndulla and Sabine Wren. While some critics believe the latest story set within the galaxy far, far away relies too heavily on knowledge of the wider franchise Ahsoka has still proven to be a major success for Disney and Lucasfilm.

Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney+ with new episodes arriving every Wednesday.