Oh no. It might be the same, but there will enough things different about so they can sell MOAR TOYS. This is the way.
I would be okay with the regular handle and just a new blade piece that's shaped correctly. I'm sure we'll get a Lego Moff Gideon at some point, and I can't see them just sticking a boring black bar in as the blade. At least I hope not
So just about every Christmas I create a Santa-themed MOC... If you look closely, you'll notice that I built it around Santa's sleigh. It also has a pull-back motor (becuz moar horzpowr).
Good back up for Santa when the Reindeer need a break every now and then. Sariel's review on the Jeep Wrangler
Considering some of the neat-o swords we've gotten with Ninjago, I don't think it's too far fetched that we'd see a dual-molded saber. Don't know about a new hilt, but the blade, absolutely. Bonus points if they decide to mold it in black and gitd white.
Not sure about glow-plastic, but I could definitely see them doing black+white or black+clear. If there was EVER a weapon that would benefit from their dual-color molding, that's it. Gideon is a shoe-in if they release his cruiser (Arquitens-class, which I've wanted a set of for years---now maybe it'll be "famous" enough that they'll give us one) The Arquitens would also "work" better as a playset, than most of the Star Destroyer sets IMHO---it's inherently smaller, so if made roughly the same size ($99, $129?) the "play areas" within would "scale" a bit better. And like 90% of what we've seen of the interior, would be perfect for that---bridge, brig, "trooper hangar"(?).
'Preciate it. I also would've preferred that the rest of the Santamobile be a different color than red--to make the sleigh stand out--but I didn't have the pieces.
TBF, the 2021 one was designed at around a reduced size/ part count compared to the 2018 version, specifically designed for a lower, more affordable price point. Think of something like the DOTM deluxe Optimus prime compared to ROTF Leader Optimus Prime, where the 2021 TIE Fighter was like the DOTM deluxe Optimus Prime equivalent to the 2018 TIE FIghter/ROTF Leader class OP: A smaller, but more affordable alternative that's just as well-detailed as its bigger, more detailed, but more expensive counterpart. And actually, if you look at the actual TIE Fighter movie model's proportion..... the size of the solar panels on the 2021 TIE Fighter actually isn't that far off. Which... I can actually get behind. Sure the 2018 one may be a better, bigger, and detailed set, but the 2021 one makes for a more affordable option for anyone wanting a Minifigure- compatible Lego TIE Fighter; Ideal for anyone who has a more limited budget and display space (Since not everyone can afford something like 80-90 dollars for a highly detailed Lego set)