Thursday evening, ABC debuted a new commercial for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" with even more new footage.
One of the most talked about scenes has quickly become one between Finn (John Boyega) and a stormtrooper.
Finn attempts to strike down one of the new First Order stormtroopers — and this happens:
What IS that?
The stormtrooper has what looks like an electrostaff blocking the lightsaber.
At first sight, it sort of resembles one of the electrostaffs wielded by one of General Greivous' goons in "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith."
However, many have pointed out it looks like it may actually be riot gear.
If some of the latest toys are any inclination, then it looks like we'll be seeing stormtroopers with shields and batons.
If that's the case, "The Force Awakens" is going back to the roots of the original 1977 "Star Wars" film "A New Hope."
Legendary "Star Wars" concept artist Ralph McQuarrie's original design for the stormtroopers included a lightsaber and a shield to defend themselves against Jedi.
Here's a link to the actual concept art.
Sideshow Collectibles will be releasing a version of McQuarrie's stormtrooper concept next year.
“I gave Han Solo a lightsaber, and I thought it was reasonable to assume the opposing forces would have the same weapons," McQuarrie has said of his reasoning for the stormtroopers to wield a lightsaber.
While McQuarrie's artwork helped get the film greenlit by Fox, the idea for the Stormtrooper armor was scrapped from the final film.
We're not sure about those lightsabers, but it looks like we'll finally be seeing some version of McQuarrie's riot gear on screen.
Pretty cool.
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