A lot of people are saying that hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster. I get it. I never set foot in an Outer Rim cantina without my trusty DL-44 either. But maybe there’s something to the old stories of wizards and their laser swords. Otherwise, why would the Empire be be so afraid of a backwater moon like Jedha? LEGO builder Ryan McBryde certainly has a soft spot for the “pilgrim moon” of Jedha, home of the Guardians of the Whills, spiritual site for the Jedi, and a source of the kyber crystals used in lightsabers. For the past 8 years, Ryan has been collaborating and iterating on an epic build of Jedha’s Temple of the Guardians of the Whills and the surrounding old city in conjunction with the Star Wars Factions role-playing project. In addition to the incredibly detailed building and interiors, which expands on brief glimpses of the site in the background of Rogue One, Ryan fleshed out the stories of locals and visiting pilgrims who bring the ancient site to life (at least until Grand Moff Tarkin showed up to test his fancy new superlaser).
Ryan’s project isn’t just an incredible accomplishment in LEGO construction, but a testement to the vitality of Star Wars as a collaborate story space.