For $500, you can join the Sith by wielding the upcoming Black Series Reva lightsaber coming to the Force FX Elite series.
With such a high price tag, you’d be correct to assume that this isn’t some ordinary plastic lightsaber with Hasbro really banking on immersion. For starters, it’s pretty big.
The Reva lightsaber is 6.5 feet long and comes in different forms. You’ll be able to split the lightsaber into two or connect them at the hilt for a half-circle or full-circle configuration.
The toy is based on the lightsaber wielded by the Third Sister, Reva, a new character introduced in the newest Star Wars series: Obi-Wan Kenobi. The lightsaber has various “battle modes” which are essentially special light configurations that replicate scenes from the show.
It has a cool startup animation with the blades slowly turning on. Other effects involve the tips of the lightsaber turning yellow to replicate cutting through metal or deflecting a laser blast. And if you really want to get into roleplaying, you can simulate another lightsaber clashing with yours.
On top of the effects, the Reva lightsaber comes with a rechargeable battery and a display stand to show off to other Star Wars nerds. That said, the existence of this cool toy hangs in the balance, and may not make it past the prototype stage.
Analysis: can the crowdfunding campaign deliver the goods?
Right now, the Reva lightsaber is undergoing a crowdfunding campaign on the HasLab platform. The campaign ends on July 11, 2022, as Hasbro seeks to get 5,000 backers to fund the project before officially putting the toy into production. At the time of this writing, the lightsaber has 814 backers.
And assuming the campaign does reach its backer goal, you won’t get the lightsaber for a while. If successful, the Reva lightsaber will begin shipping out sometime in Fall 2023 and you can only buy up to five.
Crowdfunding campaigns are usually reserved for smaller, less-established companies to get their products built when traditional investments might not be as available. Hasbro certainly doesn't fit that description, but we still expect to see many more campaigns like this in the future, as companies take advantage of the funding mechanism to minimize risk of a product failing to find a customer base.
