In a special segment (posted on Hulu) devoted to the teaser for The Force Awakens, Colbert explained why he truly believes he is one of the first Star Wars fans (having attended an early screening of the original 1977 film), then explains why a lightsaber with laser-blades coming out of its crossguard is not only practical for defense, but a legitimate use of the established lightsaber “science” in the Star Wars universe.
“People think it’s actually three different plasma streams, but it’s all one,” explains Colbert. “The long one comes out … and the two smaller beams are attached to it. They don’t start where the metal hilt ends. The metal hilts are casings around the little beams to protect your hand.”
“So even if someone slices through the metal, they’re going to hit the metal beams,” he continues. “Any padawan knows that. That’s science.”
And just to hammer the point home, Colbert explains that all a lightsaber like this would require is “three focusing crystal activators to split the plasma into perpendicular blade energy channels.”
And just like that, Colbert earns a big boost in geek cred and quite likely levels up in the estimation of Star Wars fans everywhere…
